Through a General's Eyes
by All For Love
Summary: Passionate Nephlyte narrowly escaped death to love Molly. He has no memory of his ancient past, of the passionate love he felt for another woman who has been awoken in present times, one who will challenge his every feeling for Molly and undoubtedly send
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. I will try to complete the   
  
story as soon as possible.   
  
**********************************  
  
A cold blanket of dust settled over the battle-beaten earth as the sun began   
  
to set. Cries of anguish erupted from bloody men who still lived to vocalize their   
  
torment.   
  
Despite the morbid conditions of the battlefield, women, wives and   
  
daughters of the soldiers, rushed from tent to tent, carrying bandages, surgical   
  
tools, and strong whiskey. Of those who had remained in the vicinity, the women   
  
seemed to possess the most strength and wits about the situation. Without them,   
  
many more would have died from the most recent attacks of the evil queen.  
  
It was with a strong wave of nausea that a young general passed the   
  
wounded and continued on to report to his prince. Men he had known since   
  
childhood lay dying all around him. In his twenty-eight years, he had never   
  
witnessed such destruction. Finally reaching the royal tent, he ducked inside,   
  
only to find Prince Darien in deep discussion with the others that were gathered   
  
there.  
  
"We cannot fight her forces for long and continue to keep her from   
  
advancing. She fights with stronger magic, and her followers are not divided."   
  
Prince Darien gestured to a seat within the small circle and addressed the   
  
newcomer. "How many men did you lose?"  
  
Taking the empty seat, the general looked solemnly at the four people that   
  
awaited his answer. "Over half of my men were fatally wounded, while most of   
  
the remaining men will be permanently injured. Only a few thousand men will be   
  
able to fight in any upcoming battles."  
  
"The same news for my soldiers, Prince Darien." Kunzite stood before the   
  
other men. "We must ask for aid from the Moon Kingdom. That is our only   
  
chance!" he stated passionately, revealing a deep cut on his arm in his gesture.   
  
Sitting down again, he modestly covered the wound.  
  
Zoicite agreed instantly. "I could ask for the help of Planet Mercury."  
  
"And I for the Planet Mars!" Jadeite proclaimed. "We must gather all that   
  
is willing to protect Earth. As Queen Beryl will inevitably plot the destruction of   
  
the remaining planets next, surely they will agree."  
  
Darien considered this for a moment. "I have posed these solutions to my   
  
people, but Queen Beryl has made them doubt the loyalty of the other planets."   
  
He paused for a moment and said softly, "Especially the loyalty of the Moon. Her   
  
powers are strong, but her cunning is stronger."  
  
After a moment of thoughtful silence, the young general addressed the   
  
prince. "Our numbers are diminishing rapidly. We must do something. My   
  
connections with Planet Jupiter, Kunzite's connections with Planet Venus, and the   
  
others' will surely help us to win this war. Surely, our fellow humans must   
  
understand that!"   
  
"Your point is well understood, Nephlyte." Darien looked at his generals   
  
with sadness in his eyes. "You must know that I have considered these things   
  
myself." When a murmur of agreement sounded throughout the tent, he   
  
continued. "The people know of our love for women of those respective planets.   
  
They will believe that we have been tainted by that love. Only when Queen Beryl   
  
nearly destroys Earth will I go against the wishes of my people and ask for aid   
  
from the other planets. I refuse to shake their trust when it took so long to gain it   
  
after my grandfather's tyrannical rule."  
  
Kunzite stood again. "If you let ten thousand more men die before you   
  
ask for help, they will believe that you have betrayed them anyway!" He softened   
  
his tone. "I cannot let our world be taken over by an evil, power hungry queen.   
  
We must stop her now while we still have a chance. With the help of the other   
  
planets - Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury – we can defeat her!" A   
  
sparkle of light flashed in his eyes. "My love for Princess Venus should only   
  
confirm a trust for that planet."  
  
For a moment, Nephlyte said nothing. Only dire circumstances could   
  
produce five men who spoke openly of romantic love. Although their interests   
  
had not remained a secret, the men spoke of their intense feelings to no one. Until   
  
now.  
  
Nephlyte addressed the prince again. "Let us speak with the planetary   
  
rulers. If we gain their support, then perhaps we can address the people. I, for   
  
one, cannot bear the thoughts of another battle such as this."  
  
"Along with the other planetary queens, the Queen and Princess of Mars   
  
will be visiting the Moon Kingdom. They have heard of Queen Beryl's evil   
  
intentions and have wasted no time to discuss the matter. Perhaps we could   
  
attend the meeting?" Jadeite went over the finer details of the meeting.  
  
The prince brushed a sweaty lock of black hair out of his eyes. In the   
  
period of the war – two months time – he had lost his home and his mother. His   
  
father would soon pass away, due to his grief over the queen in addition to a deep   
  
wound in his midsection. Darien had lost hope, and it seemed as if even thoughts   
  
of the magnificent Princess Serenity could not cure his present melancholy.   
  
However, in the midst of a dying kingdom, his faithful generals remained   
  
steadfast.  
  
After a long pause, Darien agreed. "We must act quickly then. The quest   
  
for my family's redemption in this land has tainted my better judgment. We must   
  
act as soon as possible." As his generals filed out of his tent, Darien began to feel   
  
the pressure of defeat. His truest friends had survived numerous earthly battles   
  
only to fight more terrifying and bloody battles with Queen Beryl. He could only   
  
pray for their continued safety. How would Earth survive her latest attacks if   
  
Darien lost Kunzite's strength, Jadeite's devotion, Zoicite's intelligence, and   
  
Nephlyte's passion? It was a scenario that he was unwilling to contemplate at   
  
such a helpless point in this war.  
  
Two hours later, the four generals, Jadeite, Nephlyte, Zoicite, and Kunzite   
  
arrived at the teleportation unit. Clean, prepared for negotiation, and anxious to   
  
see the Princesses of Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus, the four were more than   
  
ready to set foot on the Moon.   
  
Nephlyte waited for Kunzite, his superior, to step inside the unit before he   
  
entered. As he began to step inside, a strong force savagely ripped his body away   
  
from the structure.   
  
"A prince without his most trusted advisors is most vulnerable, indeed," a   
  
sultry feminine voice murmured somewhere to his left.  
  
Nephlyte looked around for his friends, but he was unable to see past the   
  
thickening red fog that surrounded him, choked him. His limbs became sluggish   
  
and his thoughts became clouded as a beautiful redheaded woman became visible   
  
and stared into his eyes. Surprise, fear, and dread filled his heart. He couldn't   
  
believe that this exquisite woman had brought about the destruction mere hours   
  
before.   
  
"Ah, you will do nicely, just as your friends will," Queen Beryl whispered   
  
softly, reaching forward slightly to plant a kiss firmly upon his lips.  
  
With that icy kiss, Nephlyte started to lose his memories. As she pulled   
  
away, the evil began to consume him. In the end, his only fleeting memory was   
  
of the beautiful Princess Jupiter. And even then he doubted that it was a memory,   
  
as he had never heard Lita scream his name in such a terrified way before.  
  
Consciousness slipped from him, as did his memory, his love, and all of   
  
the goodness that had once made him Nephlyte.   
  
****  
  
Maxfield Stanton lifted his face to the sky as the rain began to pour to the ground.   
  
Cool drops of soothing water washed his face within moments. Tension melted   
  
from his body as those same drops fell from his upturned face.  
  
Earth was having a strange effect on him.   
  
Nephlyte, known to humans as Maxfield Stanton, should have been   
  
reporting his progress to Queen Beryl. He was entirely devoted to the queen and   
  
the cause that he served. As was required, he ruthlessly gathered energy from the   
  
human race, caring not whom he hurt or killed. This task was allotted to the   
  
Negaverse generals only – Jadeite, Zoicite, Kunzite, and himself. It was a   
  
mission that should have consumed his every thought and action.  
  
Instead, he foolishly played in the rain.  
  
A few yards away, a young girl watched the man with a swelling feeling   
  
in her heart. Concealed partly by a large oak and partly by the low visibility of   
  
the rain that filled atmosphere, she gazed at him with unveiled love.  
  
He was so beautiful. Pushing the long brown hair from his face, he visibly   
  
sighed. Eyes of azure sparkled as he opened them slowly. Muscles in his arms   
  
became evident as the suit he wore became wet and clingy.   
  
Molly felt her breath snagging on her swelling emotions. A few months   
  
ago, she would have scolded a young lady for following a man into a deserted   
  
park and watching his every move. It seemed unhealthy, almost, standing – no! –   
  
HIDING behind an oak tree to drink up every movement of a man that she loved,   
  
but did not really know. Her chest hurt with the strong new emotions that came   
  
with the pains of first love.  
  
Since she could stand no more, Molly, clutching her hands to her heart,   
  
turned to go. It was torture to want…and not have. She left the cover of the oak   
  
tree reluctantly, unwilling to ponder on how unsatisfying the situation was. She   
  
left the park unnoticed by the object of her adoration and sadly made her way   
  
home.  
  
With the stinging chill of wet clothing, Nephlyte felt his willpower return   
  
to him. Cursing his momentary weakness, he left the park to return to his   
  
mansion.   
  
It was imperative that he stayed focused. He must find out whether the   
  
girl, Molly, knew the identity of Sailor Moon. If he fell out of Queen Beryl's   
  
favor because of the Sailor Scouts' interference, he would suffer Jadeite's fate –   
  
eternal sleep. Zoicite didn't make things easier, either. As Zoicite whispered his   
  
shortcomings into the queen's ears, he lost Beryl's support. Only the Imperium   
  
Silver Crystal or the capture of Sailor Moon could save him now.  
  
And that brought him back to the girl in question – Molly. Laughter   
  
shook his body as he thought of her proclamations of LOVE. Love, should he ever   
  
become acquainted with the emotion, had no place within the Negaverse. In fact,   
  
he had never heard of such a notion until he had been assigned to gather energy   
  
from Earth. The ridiculous humans had even set aside a full day to celebrate love.  
  
He, Nephlyte and Maxfield Stanton, had laughed at the worthless   
  
conception of love. So, in celebration of THAT, he would reward Molly for her trust   
  
and use her as bait to gather either the Imperium Silver Crystal or Sailor Moon.   
  
He had considered allowing Molly to live afterwards, but even that issue was still   
  
in debate.  
  
****  
  
  
  
Nephlyte had persuaded the girl to meet him alone. It was a feat that was   
  
unchallenging, but it still left him satisfied. Quiet manipulation was certainly his   
  
strong suit, he recognized, knowing that the other generals lacked the talent.   
  
When Kunzite took the direct approach, Zoicite viewed the situation through   
  
heavy analysis, and Jadeite cautiously sent someone in before him, Nephlyte   
  
slipped in the back door and got the job done. Whether the skill would prove to   
  
be valuable in the near future was still in question, but in any case, it had allowed   
  
him to survive Queen Beryl's wrath for longer than Jadeite.   
  
He was even more satisfied when he convinced Molly to retrieve the   
  
Imperium Silver Crystal for him. As she sprinted towards the location of the   
  
crystal, he pondered on how to reward this girl. To present her to Queen Beryl   
  
would be pointless – the evil energy of the Negaverse would kill most humans   
  
upon arrival. And Nephlyte knew that Molly was weak. Strangely, the thoughts   
  
of killing her left a sour taste in his mouth.  
  
As she cautiously approached, he erased the evil smile off of his lips and   
  
replaced it with a look of sadness.  
  
Molly sat down next to him and searched his eyes. Clear blue eyes stared   
  
back into hers and she thought she would melt. As she felt herself falling into   
  
those eyes, she vaguely recalled his request.  
  
Holding out her hands, she dropped the stolen crystal into his hands.   
  
Although it hurt to steal from her mother, Molly pushed the guilt aside as she   
  
watched Maxfield. She would reimburse her mother one day. Besides, her   
  
mother would make up for the loss of the crystal in sales from other jeweled items   
  
in her store.   
  
Seconds later, studying the round crystal with a dark crystal of his own,   
  
Nephlyte nearly shouted in frustration. This wasn't the Imperium Silver Crystal.   
  
He tried to keep his temper in check and found it difficult. After a few moments,   
  
strangely, his crystal began to react to Molly…  
  
He had to know why. And he knew how to find out.  
  
As he'd often seen human males do, he focused his gaze into Molly's   
  
eyes. When he knew that he had her complete attention, he lowered his lips to   
  
hers.   
  
The action became natural to him immediately. He drew back from her   
  
momentarily to see her reaction, but he could only concentrate on kissing her   
  
again. A vague sense of memory clouded his mind as if he had participated in   
  
this same activity once upon a time. The more he kissed her, the closer he came   
  
to touching the memory.   
  
Molly could hardly breath. She tangled her fingers in his thick auburn hair   
  
and tried to keep standing. For weeks, she had dreamed of being kissed this way   
  
by this man - for years, she had dreamed of being kissed that way by ANYONE.   
  
A strange feeling began to grow within Nephlyte's chest, and it spread   
  
throughout his body. His heart swelled until he thought it would burst.   
  
Clutching her to him, he could concentrate on nothing except the wonderful   
  
feeling of being alive. Startled by the intensity, he abruptly broke the kiss and   
  
stepped away from her.  
  
"Please, Maxfield, don't turn away! I know that I'm younger than you,   
  
but-"  
  
A shadow fell upon them from a short distance.   
  
"How dare you lure her here!" Sailor Moon shouted, just arriving at the   
  
scene, directing her angry gaze towards Nephlyte. Along with Sailor Moon,   
  
Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury had him surrounded.  
  
"No, Sailor Moon, Maxfield isn't evil!" Molly pleaded, gently laying her   
  
hand upon his. Her lips were still burning from his kisses.  
  
Sailor Moon pointed an accusing finger in his direction. "Nephlyte, you   
  
fiend. Show yourself!"  
  
Smiling wickedly, he did as she asked. Sailor Moon would die by his   
  
hand tonight, he vowed, cursing her for ruining his plans. Conjuring the powers   
  
within himself, he blasted dark energy towards her. Mars and Mercury retaliated   
  
with their own attacks, which he easily avoided. However, avoiding them sent   
  
him directly in Sailor Moon's sights.   
  
Her moon tiara was coming straight for his heart.  
  
Screaming wildly, Molly stepped in between him and the tiara, protecting   
  
him with her body.   
  
He knew that he'd never known true fear until that moment. He also   
  
thought it was the first time he'd ever felt love in his life. He was wrong.  
  
****  
  
It was impossible to name his feelings at that moment. Molly lay in his   
  
arms and her soft breathing indicated that she was asleep. She had saved his life,   
  
and in return he had saved hers – twice. Hiding from Zoicite was no easy task,   
  
but with Molly in tow, it was crucial to surviving  
  
Her silly talk about chocolate parfaits and other such nonsense had   
  
actually appealed to him. He marveled at the tingling feeling in his body and   
  
wondered when he would die from such a weak and vulnerable state. Surly only   
  
imminent death could weaken his mind so. Over the past couple of days he had   
  
suffered a strange transformation. He had been painfully aware of his minor   
  
injuries, a knowledge that he was once oblivious to. He also started to notice the   
  
smell of flowers, the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of a moonlit night. Above   
  
all, he felt powerful emotions surge through him when he held Molly in that   
  
moment.  
  
And that's just how Zoicite's minions had found them – huddled together   
  
in a loving embrace that made them all nauseous.  
  
The girl screamed when she saw them. Pushing her behind him, Nephlyte   
  
tested their courage.  
  
But they were too quick for them. Piercing him with an object that would   
  
kill him momentarily, they watched with glee as the girl rushed forward to pull   
  
the object from Nephlyte's body. He fell to the ground in a most satisfactory   
  
way.  
  
She would pull forever if she had to. The object burned her hands until   
  
she could not help but to cry out, but the pain deterred her none. Nephlyte had to   
  
live or she would surely die. She shouted her oath, tears streaming down her face,   
  
and continued to pull the object. His eyes were closed and appeared to be dying,   
  
but in her heart, she knew that he was not dead. She jerked at the object   
  
frantically.  
  
She heard loud voices around her, but she still pulled at the object that had   
  
pierced Nephlyte's chest. The minions had disappeared, presumably satisfied in   
  
the knowledge that he would certainly die. She would save him if it killed her in   
  
the process.  
  
It was when she could pull no more that a soft purple glow entered her   
  
vision. Helplessly staring about her, she looked into the kind eyes of Sailor   
  
Mercury. On the other side, she met the determined eyes of Sailor Mars. They   
  
forced her away from the dying man.  
  
"Mercury Power!"   
  
"Mars Power!"  
  
By means of their outstretched hands, water and fire met to dissolve the   
  
impossible object. The scouts rushed to his side.  
  
"Water to rinse and purify the wound," Mercury whispered, placing her   
  
hand over Nephlyte's gaping wound. Blue light flowed through her hand to his   
  
body. When she removed her hand, the blood had stopped flowing and all the   
  
remnants of the object had dissolved.  
  
Mars placed her hand upon his chest. "Fire to close and heal the wound."   
  
Scarlet red flames surrounded his injury and slowly made their way inside his   
  
body. Upon removal of her hand, Nephlyte's wound had been sealed.  
  
Sailor Moon knelt beside of her friend.  
  
"Molly!" She gently took Molly's burned hands into hers and whispered   
  
something indistinguishable. When finished, Molly looked at them. Although   
  
her palms were still red and swollen, the pain had vanished.  
  
"W-will he live?" Molly gently brushed his beautiful hair out of his face   
  
and stared wistfully at his closed eyes.  
  
"We hope." Sailor Mercury looked at the man who had been her enemy   
  
hours before. "It depends how much human is in him."   
  
Molly didn't understand what she meant. Nephlyte, as he'd finally   
  
revealed his name to her, was from an evil place called the Negaverse. She   
  
assumed that it was a small country on Earth, but he implied that it was   
  
somewhere away from the Earth.   
  
Sailor Mars closed her eyes and placed her hands upon his forehead. After   
  
a few moments, her eyelids flew upwards. With a surprised gasp, she turned to   
  
Sailor Moon. "He's completely human. How can this be? All who are from the   
  
Negaverse are mere shells of humans. Their negative energy is easy to detect.   
  
Although there are those humans who side with her, even they lose their humanity   
  
to Beryl's evil."  
  
"I don't know. Your gift is beyond my capabilities, Mars." Sailor Moon   
  
glanced at Molly, who remained oblivious to anyone but Nephlyte. "Perhaps   
  
Luna can tell us something. For now, we must bring him back to his home."  
  
Sailor Mercury looked at the other scouts and shook her head furiously.   
  
"No, we cannot leave him anywhere alone. Zoicite may find him again."  
  
"I'll stay with him tonight and tomorrow." Molly's eyes held a stubborn   
  
gleam in them that the others were too tired to contest. They were certain that   
  
Nephlyte would not harm Molly and that the Negaverse temporarily thought he   
  
was dead.  
  
"Very well." They helped Molly take an unconscious Nephlyte home and   
  
lay him in his bed. Molly gently undressed him and cleaned the dried blood off of   
  
his body. Her fingers skated across the section of his chest that the object had   
  
penetrated. That Mercury and Mars had healed with their power. The skin there   
  
was smooth and pinkish, like new skin.  
  
Mars looked warily upon his sleeping face. She hadn't told the others the   
  
entire truth – Nephlyte had a good heart and he was connected with their quest in   
  
intimate ways. While the Sailor Scouts had an uncertain past in the Moon   
  
Kingdom, his past was intertwined with Moon Kingdom as well. She recalled the   
  
image that had flashed in her mind when she touched his forehead. *What if I lose   
  
you, Nephlyte? Do not worry my love, I will come back to you.* He spoke to a   
  
tall, slender woman who wore a small tiara. Her hair was dark brown, but the   
  
features of her face were undistinguishable. The kiss that had followed was so   
  
intense that Mars had shivered slightly. What could it mean? And why was it so   
  
important that she had such intense visions of it?  
  
The scouts left, and Sailor Mars transformed into Rei. It was time to   
  
consult the Great Fire.  
  
An hour later, Molly placed a cool rag on Nephlyte's forehead. He was   
  
still unconscious, but thankfully he was breathing. She lowered her mouth to his   
  
and gently kissed his mouth. His lips were warm.  
  
Sighing softly, she kicked off her shoes and climbed into the large bed   
  
with him. She flipped the rag over to its cooler side and laid her head into the   
  
crook of Nephlyte's outstretched arm. He was hers now.  
  
****  
  
A tall figure stood gazing towards the park. The wind blew her hair off of   
  
her shoulders as she stood there, letting it carry away her worries. The air had   
  
always called to her, and, carried upon this particular air, was the scent of an   
  
upcoming storm. The night sky seemed to pulse with each passing second, as if it   
  
were ready to bust but waiting for the right moment. A solid gray sky flashed in   
  
the distance. The small gusts of wind compensated little for the mounting   
  
humidity.  
  
Lita had never felt more at home.  
  
Gazing around her with appreciation, she sought a place to sit down and   
  
watch the approaching storm. A white gazebo was placed strategically in the park   
  
so its occupants could face the pond in front of it. Opting out of getting under   
  
cover, she sat on the steps so that the raindrops could cool her face.  
  
Minutes passed.  
  
Sensing another's presence, her eyes roamed the park.  
  
Another figure, obviously a man, was also watching the sky with   
  
anticipation. He stood on the other side of the pond facing her. Strange, she   
  
thought, that another could enjoy the very same things that made her so different   
  
from others.   
  
A few minutes later, the figure, unbeknownst to her, lifted his face as she   
  
did to enjoy the rain. She was soaked instantly, and when the lightning began to   
  
strike, she could feel the storm's energy flow through her. These strange powers   
  
coincided with such storms and had since Lita could remember. THIS was what   
  
separated her from other people.   
  
The mysterious man seemed to finally notice her. A few uneventful   
  
moments passed and then he changed. His posture seemed to transform as if   
  
another soul had captured his body. As lightning flashed, she could see the   
  
sparkle from his eyes – eyes that sparkled with strange light. With slow steps, he   
  
began to enclose the space between them. She could only see him between the   
  
lightning bolts every few seconds.  
  
Dark wet hair hung around his shoulders, and his t-shirt was plastered to   
  
his upper body. Lita took a shallow breath. She had seen better looking men, but   
  
this one…APPEALED to her. She found it impossible to look away from him.  
  
He walked with a resolute stride, and when he reached her, he stopped.   
  
With a hypnotic expression, he lifted his hands and placed them on Lita's face.   
  
The man lifted her wet hair from her shoulders and smiled.  
  
This did not startle her. In fact, she almost EXPECTED it. Being with this   
  
man was almost natural to her. The hypnotic spell began to invade her as well.  
  
As he bent to kiss her, he murmured something into Lita's ear. The words   
  
made no sense to her for a moment, as they were in a language that she was sure   
  
had never touched her ears before. The words were soft, rhythmic, and almost   
  
musical. After a moment, she found that she could understand them.  
  
*Do not worry, my love, I have returned.*  
  
Against the warmth of his lips and in the same strange language she   
  
answered his declaration. *Nephlyte…*  
  
She had never kissed or been kissed in such a passionate way. She   
  
wrapped her arms around him and their lips melded slowly while the rain   
  
continued to fall on them. An odd scent filled the air, whisking them away from   
  
the present and into a world that only they could sense. They forgot where they   
  
were, but, more importantly, they forgot who they were. Another time and place   
  
called to their souls, and the more they touched, the closer they came to that   
  
reality.   
  
Lita began to kiss his neck, and his head fell back in ecstasy.   
  
In that moment, lightning struck a nearby tree, causing them both to jump.   
  
The extraordinary moment, strange scent upon the air, and their momentary   
  
amnesia melted away with the shock, and they remembered that they were   
  
strangers.  
  
Recovering from the temporary jolt, Lita looked at the man and realized   
  
that he was a complete stranger. She tried to remember the language that he   
  
spoke to her earlier but could only remember the translation. The intimate   
  
feelings that she had experienced during their kiss were gone, and she felt   
  
ashamed.  
  
They didn't know one another, and yet they had kissed like lovers.  
  
He looked as distraught as she felt. He blinked a few times, as if to clear   
  
his head, and tried to apologize but obviously could not find the words.   
  
Lita understood – how can one rationalize something that was so   
  
irrational? She felt no animosity towards the handsome man – he looked as   
  
confused as she felt. There were no words that could explain how awkward she   
  
felt as the heat of a blush reddened her cheeks.  
  
Because the magic had ended, and she could no longer make sense of the   
  
situation, Lita ran from the park.  
  
****  
  
"My memories are little better than yours. I'm afraid that I can tell you   
  
nothing more of Nephlyte's identity," Luna stated, settling gracefully in a chair in   
  
Serena's room.   
  
Across town, the storm's power had deteriorated significantly. With   
  
random lighting flashes in the distance, warm socks, and a circle of friends, the   
  
bedroom was quite comfortable. Serena took her normal position in the room –   
  
the bed – while Rei sat cross-legged on the floor and Amy sat in a chair beside   
  
Luna. The somber attitude of the room was unusual.  
  
A worried look crossed Amy's face. "If Nephlyte is indeed human, he   
  
should have been destroyed by Queen Beryl and the Negaverse. Since he was   
  
not…there are a limited amount of explanations. It is possible that he possesses   
  
strength beyond an average human male. This is not to imply that he is stronger   
  
in the physical sense, although it is a possibility, but he has an incredible strength   
  
of character."  
  
Rei spoke up. "Nephlyte is connected with the Moon Kingdom. I don't   
  
know how, but he played an important role in its prosperity and its demise."  
  
"My guess is that he played a very important role in something. No doubt   
  
he was powerful before he was recruited by Beryl."  
  
"Who can possibly be that powerful, Amy? Beryl destroyed Jadeite with a   
  
flick of her fingers. And he was obviously Negatrash. Surely she could eliminate   
  
what was left of Nephlyte the human, despite his importance." Serena twirled the   
  
ends of her hair around her index finger. Despite her lack of sixth-sense powers,   
  
even she had sensed something good in Nephlyte.  
  
Amy nervously rolled the Sailor Mercury transformation pen in her small   
  
hands. A scientific explanation failed to solve many of the Negaverse mysteries,   
  
and this was the biggest mystery yet. Her mathematical nature still clashed with   
  
the idea of magic and power, but she was slowly getting used to it. "Perhaps she   
  
merely locked him away inside of his own body."  
  
"Why would Beryl spare him?" Rei quietly asked. She chose not to   
  
disclose the remaining facts and information about the emotional vision. Her   
  
visions had always been accurate, but when she didn't understand them, it was   
  
best to keep the information secret until she made sense of them. In the   
  
meantime, it was not difficult to hide her thoughts and feelings from others.   
  
Especially Serena.   
  
"Perhaps he had knowledge that she wasn't privy to. She probably had to   
  
rely on his memories for…something. I'm not exactly sure. In any case,   
  
Nephlyte is in grave danger if he is discovered by the Negaverse. Even if he   
  
evades Queen Beryl's minions, he could still be in danger."  
  
"How so?" Serena's thoughts drifted to Molly. She had never seen her   
  
friend so ensnared by a man before. Especially one of Nephlyte's age. He had to   
  
be close to thirty.  
  
"As Nephlyte has no memory of his life beyond the Negaverse, he could   
  
be from any planet and be of any age. If he is from an ancient time, his body may   
  
deteriorate without her evil sustaining it." Amy chose to ignore Serena's cry of   
  
disgust. She continued. "Regardless of Nephlyte's fate, Molly must keep her   
  
distance. If Nephlyte is discovered, Molly could be killed this time. If he dies   
  
from other causes, she will only be devastated by the ordeal."  
  
"Molly has been through so much lately. Her mother has tried to   
  
understand Molly's strange attitude and actions. Molly continues to wait until her   
  
mother sleeps to go to Nephlyte, but he is resting most of the time."  
  
"Serena, we've got to get her to stop!"  
  
Luna agreed instantly. "Yes. In the meantime, we mustn't allow her to   
  
visit him alone." When she was sure that she had everyone's attention, Luna   
  
informed the scouts of her conversation with Central Control. "And that was the   
  
minor details of our conversation. Our main topic was about the upcoming   
  
addition to our team. A new scout will be joining us soon."  
  
Cries of delight sounded through the room. Because of Zoicite's cunning   
  
and Nephlyte's predicament, an extra scout would be essential in defeating Queen   
  
Beryl. Only in dire circumstances would Tuxedo Mask arrive on the scene, and   
  
he seemed to distract Serena so much that it was probably better that he didn't   
  
feel compelled to rescue the girls.   
  
"However," Luna continued, "I am not sure when she will appear or what   
  
planet she represents. You must watch for her."  
  
****  
  
Nephlyte paced his bedroom with the restlessness of the guilty. He rolled   
  
the strange words on his tongue once more. *Do not worry, my love, I have   
  
returned.* He could only speak the words because, somewhere in the hazy,   
  
sluggish fog of that moment, he had mentally noted the sentence in its strange   
  
words. Despite his painstaking efforts, he found that he could only remember the   
  
translation and fumble over the intricate phonetics of the language. It was   
  
frustrating.  
  
The sunny skies had removed the remnants of the storm the next day.   
  
Because of the ambiguity of the night, he nearly swore that it hadn't really   
  
happened.  
  
During the fury of the storm, when he had seen the girl clearly, he could   
  
not stop his feet from coming to her. If only for her appearance, she was quite   
  
normal. Her features were plain, and her figure was slightly gawky. It was her   
  
SOUL that called to him. No, not to him, but to his soul. In those painfully short   
  
moments of their passionate kisses, he knew that if not for the jolt of lightning,   
  
anything could have happened. ANYTHING. He loved her and would've died for   
  
her if necessary.  
  
After their heads had cleared, they recognized each another as strangers.   
  
And there was nothing left from that moment before. It was as devoid of emotion   
  
as a purchase at a store or the passing of a stranger on a street.   
  
Nephlyte cringed as he thought of Molly. He surely loved her, he told   
  
himself. Her love had saved him and each passing day with her swept away the   
  
evil clutches of the Negaverse. However hard he tried to convince himself of his   
  
love for Molly, he knew that true romantic love felt differently. He had   
  
experienced it with that young girl in the park.   
  
He would never reveal that experience with Molly. He was determined to   
  
eliminate it from his mind.  
  
****  
  
Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. Rei's consultations with the   
  
Great Fire were always this way, but her visions were stronger when she felt the   
  
extreme heat of the fire.   
  
The vision suddenly came upon her.  
  
She could feel his fear. She could only distinguish a red haze, but fear   
  
was the prevailing factor in the vision. With extra effort, she could also feel the   
  
chill of the moment, despite the scorching temperature of the room she occupied.  
  
When she could focus no more, she let out a ragged breath and mopped   
  
her forehead with the rag that she held in her tense hands. With a resolute sigh,   
  
Rei began to concentrate again.  
  
The black image of her mind slowly began to develop colors. Stars   
  
sprinkled neatly in the dark backdrop and an enormous castle solidified to her far   
  
left. There was a stormy atmosphere evident in her surroundings. Several moons   
  
brightened her surroundings with a soft red and gold glow.  
  
The dust of the land was rust colored, and she could now see that the   
  
castle was made of emerald. An entire royal courtyard scene unfolded before her.   
  
Only one person was in the courtyard, a beautiful woman who was dressed   
  
in fine purple silk. The deep square neckline of the dress displayed a necklace of   
  
large emerald and a chest that most women envy. A small golden tiara sat upon   
  
her pinned curls. Some of her dark hair had escaped the fashionable hairstyle   
  
only to tumble riotously down her back in large curls that reached past her   
  
waistline.  
  
The woman walked along the edge of the castle. She entered the gates of   
  
a side garden. Clouds of red dust followed her as she walked with determined   
  
strides. Rei was whisked to the beautiful rose gardens where the woman knelt   
  
down before a stone structure.  
  
*I will not live without you*, the woman whispered, caressing the structure   
  
lovingly. Her voice had a rich quality to it, and although the language was   
  
unidentifiable, Rei could understand.   
  
As the woman took a beautiful dagger from the folds of her dress, Rei was   
  
able to see what the stone structure represented. It was shaped like the symbol of   
  
Jupiter, its surface smooth and graceful. An inscription was carved with a loving   
  
hand, just as the intricate decorations that surrounded it had been. *Forever with   
  
you* was written above two names – Princess Jupiter and Lord Nephlyte. An   
  
educated guess told Rei that the stone structure had been created for a betrothal   
  
ceremony.  
  
Rei shivered slightly as she reread the names. When she realized what   
  
was about to happen, her body shook violently. The woman, Princess Jupiter,   
  
gently picked up the knife and turned its sharp point towards her chest.  
  
Rei thrust the vision from her mind just before the princess drove the knife   
  
into her heart.  
  
*************************************************  
  
Copyright 2003 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. I will try to complete the   
  
story as soon as possible.   
  
Sailor Crescent Moon - Thank you so very much for your critique, it was certainly   
  
inspiring! :)  
  
**********************************  
  
Molly skipped up to the dark mansion that Nephlyte called home.   
  
While the detail of the large house was intricate and clearly antique, it   
  
gave off a distinct unpleasant feeling that caused the young girl to rush her   
  
normally casual step. Perhaps the ancient limbs of the surrounding trees or the   
  
eerie mist that perpetually surrounded the grounds contributed to the strange aura   
  
of the place. Then again, she mused, Nephlyte himself was mysterious.  
  
She hurried up the steps and stood on the porch for a moment, peering in a   
  
nearby window and trying to steal a glimpse of Nephlyte before her knock alerted   
  
him of her presence. He was such a guarded man, consistently cloaking his   
  
thoughts and feelings. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dimly lit interior of the   
  
house and she saw nothing, only dark shapes that were most undoubtedly   
  
furniture inside a dark home.  
  
She knocked briskly, trying to slow the beating of her heart as she heard   
  
his footsteps approach.  
  
Seconds before his opened the door, she smoothed an imaginary wrinkle   
  
in the snug, midriff flattering white blouse she was wearing and patted her hair   
  
consciously. She had twisted her shoulder-length hair into an elegant brown knot,   
  
and, while it was certainly a change, the style made her look a couple of years   
  
older. The hem of the cotton blue skirt she wore barely reached respectable   
  
length, she mused, hoping that it would prod Nephlyte to respond to her in a more   
  
mature fashion.   
  
Molly suppressed a giggle.  
  
A few gentlemanly kisses here and there had merely made her curious for   
  
more, and she longed to learn the secrets of passionate love. While Nephlyte   
  
learned the beauty of humanity, Molly mentally drummed her fingers and tried to   
  
be patient. If only he would learn the beauty of romantic love, she thought.  
  
Nephlyte opened the door cautiously, relief flooding his face as he looked   
  
into Molly's eyes. He ushered her into his home, offering her various beverages   
  
from his kitchen, nodding cheerfully when she selected an herbal tea mixture.   
  
She looked different today, he thought, sitting down on a comfortable   
  
couch in the sunroom, located in the back of the house. Molly sat down next to   
  
him, kicked off her shoes, and leaned into him.  
  
"Nephlyte, I've thought about you all day." She smiled warmly, sending a   
  
rush of affection through his heart. "Do you ever get lonely in this big mansion of   
  
yours, all alone?"  
  
He took her hand and squeezed it. "No, I know that you will be with me   
  
soon and it gives me time to relax. The Negaverse was no place for love and   
  
relaxation. I seem to be enjoying both in your world, though." He arched a dark   
  
eyebrow, a light dancing in his azure eyes.  
  
It nearly robbed her of her breath. Molly smiled again, and, mentally   
  
slowing her racing heart, she pressed her lips to his and tried to incite a satisfying   
  
response from him. She placed her hand behind his head, threading her fingers   
  
through the auburn masses and boldly pressed his mouth to her own.  
  
Nephlyte's eyes widened in shock at the strange sensations flooding his   
  
body. He kissed her passively for a few moments, trying to understand what was   
  
happening. His entire body tingled, and he visibly shuddered, pulling her into his   
  
lap. Nephlyte's kisses became dominant, and from Molly's delicate gasp, he   
  
knew that she was enjoying this as much as he was.  
  
His tongue brushed hers ardently as his hands crept up her back to tangle   
  
in her hair as hers was currently tangled in his own. He crushed her small frame   
  
to his body.   
  
A new, stranger sensation crept up his spine. Opening his eyes, Nephlyte   
  
found himself staring to beautiful green eyes, quite unlike Molly's. They   
  
belonged to the mysterious girl from the storm. He knew it was an extraordinary   
  
vision, a stubborn mental lapse designed to inconvenience him, but it rocked him   
  
to his core - he wanted the girl more than he had ever wanted Molly.  
  
He stopped suddenly and pushed the girl away from him, shaking his head   
  
forcefully, ridding his mind of the tricks it played on his eyes. Instantly, the   
  
stranger's beautiful face and entrancing eyes faded, revealing Molly's soft,   
  
wounded expression.  
  
Molly pulled away from him slowly, looking embarrassed. Two buttons   
  
on her shirt were undone, her hair tangled, and her cheeks flushed. He looked   
  
deeply disturbed by something. She could only surmise that he was disgusted by   
  
her.  
  
As Nephlyte tried to explain in a manner that would make sense as well as   
  
spare her feelings, she merely nodded and walked toward the door. He was still   
  
stammering when she left his house, rushing to get away from the humiliating   
  
situation and the creepy surroundings.  
  
****  
  
It was too beautiful a day in Tokyo for such a thoughtful mood. Such days   
  
were meant for milkshakes, poolside lounging, and friends - not school bells, the   
  
Negaverse, or the problems with Nephlyte. But Sailor Moon was required to   
  
ponder these things - it was sunny days like this that she fought to keep.   
  
It was amazing how such a tiny planet could be so beautiful and yet so   
  
different from its sister planets. Each of Earth's nearest neighbors had an   
  
interesting feature that was distinctly unique to that planet. Mercury with its   
  
strange orbit, where at some points on the planet, an observer would see the sun   
  
gradually rise and stop, briefly reverse course and stop again before resuming its   
  
original path. Venus, where an observer would look to the west for a sunrise and   
  
east for the sunset. Mars with its vast dust storms, versus Jupiter's colder   
  
temperatures and lightning bolts that are ten times more powerful than a lightning   
  
bolt on Earth.  
  
And she was only the guardian of Earth's moon. It was simply a small   
  
ball of rock and crater damage with no atmosphere. Sure, the view of Earth was   
  
breathtaking, but what was significant about its one tiny moon?  
  
In many ways, it made sense why she so different than her human   
  
planetary counterparts, but sometimes it was frustrating. Amy, Sailor Mercury,   
  
had been endowed with extreme intelligence, and Rei, Sailor Mars, had been   
  
blessed with a sixth sense. What was her extraordinary power?  
  
Memories of the recent fateful night flashed through her mind. Nephlyte's   
  
attack, Molly's love, the scouts' healing powers. As Sailor Moon, she had   
  
contributed little. Although she had eliminated the pain from her friend's hands,   
  
she hadn't healed them completely.   
  
What new powers would the next sailor scout bring to the Sailor Scouts?  
  
Serena thought about the moon princess that the scouts were to seek out.   
  
What would her appearance reveal? And what about the Imperium Silver   
  
Crystal?  
  
She shook her head and marveled at how serious she had become about   
  
her role as Sailor Moon. Regardless of Rei's accusations that she was a total ditz   
  
and a complete baby, there was more underneath her façade of outrageous   
  
silliness. It hid the biting fear of battle and the panic of having her dearest friends   
  
placed in danger to save the energy of their species. She loved her fellow scouts   
  
as much as her family, and she would gladly die protecting them.   
  
Serena's chest hurt when she thought more of the new sailor scout that   
  
would arrive. This individual would become among her circle of beloved friends,   
  
and there would be one more person to worry about, one more person to cry for.   
  
One more to protect with her life.  
  
She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice a tall brunette   
  
walking straight in her direction. The collision knocked them both down.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Serena scrambled to help the other girl off of the   
  
sidewalk. "I'm afraid that I wasn't watching where I was going."  
  
They hurried to retrieve their belongings.  
  
The brunette smiled. "Me neither...I had my mind on other things, too..."   
  
Her smile faded slightly and a pensive frown turned her lips. She shook her head   
  
as if to clear her troubling thoughts.  
  
Serena pushed her long ponytails over her shoulders. "I'm Serena. You   
  
know, you look familiar."  
  
"My name's Lita." Lita cocked her head momentarily and studied the   
  
short blonde girl. "You go to school, right? I transferred there a couple of days   
  
ago."   
  
Serena drummed her fingers on the notebook she carried. "You must be-"   
  
She gasped. "You are the girl that got kicked out of her old school!" exclaimed   
  
the ever-so-blunt blonde.  
  
Lita laughed and tried to explain the situation. Before long, the two were   
  
talking animatedly about their lives.  
  
"You want to meet me after school tomorrow, Lita? We can go to the   
  
arcade and see this really cute guy..."   
  
"Sounds great!"  
  
With the agreement, Serena and Lita rushed off to school.  
  
****  
  
Queen Beryl recessed to the deepest of her chambers with a mission.   
  
Another of her generals lie cold in his grave and her control wore thin. The first,   
  
a failure, the second, a traitor...what next?  
  
She peered into the round crystal that dominated the small room. "Queen   
  
Metallia, what shall I do next?"  
  
A low, wispy voice came from the crystal. "We must summon the shadow   
  
warriors forth from the rainbow crystal carriers. There are seven total - with   
  
them, Beryl, we shall be invincible!"  
  
Queen Beryl momentarily smiled, but it faded with her intruding black   
  
thoughts. "And the sailor scouts? Sailor Moon, Mercury, and Mars continue to   
  
thwart my efforts. If they intercept the Imperium Silver Crystal, we may lose this   
  
fight."  
  
"No, Beryl, they won't. They will be destroyed by the seven shadow   
  
warriors." Metallia's voice strengthened momentarily, revealing the depth of her   
  
excitement. "Remember the death and destruction our seven strongest warriors   
  
left in their wake?"  
  
Queen Beryl nearly licked her lips in delicious memory. Blood spilled on   
  
lunar soil had been her goal for decades - and the shadow warriors spilled   
  
satisfying amounts of it on the gray dust. Bodies of those who remained loyal to   
  
the Silver Alliance littered the ground - victory was very close.  
  
At that moment, she offered the earth prince a chance to rule with her. He   
  
was the only man who she had truly wanted by her side. She shivered slightly at   
  
the thought of his thick dark hair, piercing eyes, and muscular physique.   
  
Although his stubborn demeanor had caused his death, she had admired that, too.  
  
While he refused and held the earth princess close, she had aggressively   
  
attacked them both. They died instantly.   
  
Her eyes narrowed. That was when Serenity had sent them hurling to   
  
earth and the future. A future that she intended to dominate.  
  
And, if the sailor scouts had been born again, then so had the earth prince.   
  
She intended to make him hers this time around.  
  
****  
  
Zoicite fingered the dark crystal that would enable him to retrieve the first   
  
of the seven rainbow crystals. Strength had never been his strong point, he   
  
thought dryly, but it had been one of Nephlyte's strengths, and, after all, he was   
  
dead.  
  
The general laughed.   
  
How he had hated Nephlyte...for his strength and his passion. Perhaps it   
  
had bordered jealousy in the beginning, when the queen valued strength over   
  
brainpower. While not stupid, Nephlyte was certainly no intellect as Zoicite   
  
prized himself to be. When Beryl began to question Nephlyte's motives, Zoicite   
  
pounced - this was a perfect time to prove himself to his queen.  
  
Later his hatred turned to disgust - Nephlyte's infamous passion for battle   
  
turned into passion for life...and human love. How disgusting.  
  
So much for passion, he mused, when Beryl summoned him to the throne   
  
room. It was too strong and unpredictable - brainpower was steady and   
  
trustworthy.   
  
As he left his chambers, Zoicite felt a strange sensation. He shivered as he   
  
felt a slight pang of guilt. Utterly shocked, he stopped walking and began to   
  
massage his temples, intent on making the uncomfortable feeling go away.  
  
While he hated his fellow generals, there was an unmistakable bond   
  
between the four. Nothing resembling love, but it was an unexpected tie of loyalty that   
  
he had never understood. It only hit him at intervals that were few and far   
  
between, but this was stronger than the others. When Jadeite had been destroyed   
  
by Queen Beryl, he no longer felt that irritating tie to Jadeite.  
  
Awareness crept up Zoicite 's spine...Nephlyte was alive.  
  
****  
  
Amy slipped the thin-rimmed glasses from the bridge of her nose and set   
  
them on the table beside the leather couch. "This is by no means an interrogation.   
  
We simply have to learn more about you - for everyone's safety." She nervously   
  
twirled the pen in her right hand as she glanced at the list of questions she had   
  
prepared for the interview.  
  
"For Molly's safety, you mean." Nephlyte's narrowed gaze flicked to   
  
Amy's notebook. He did little to hide the contempt from his voice as he said,   
  
"Let's be honest, Sailor Mercury." He paced around the vast study that was   
  
located on the west wing of the mansion. Plush rugs, mahogany furniture, and   
  
leather couches greeted guests with an intimidating awareness - an environment   
  
that suited him well.   
  
Nephlyte helped himself to a Scotch, then, as an afterthought, said, "And   
  
does the intellectual Sailor Mercury indulge in alcoholic beverages from time to   
  
time?"  
  
Amy's spine stiffened. "Of course not. Strong drink impairs one's ability   
  
to think and reason. I rather enjoy the freedom of making intelligent choices   
  
without the swaying relaxant of such beverages. The thought of acting   
  
impulsively due to such an atrocity is appalling, in fact, I-"  
  
"Yes, yes. A simple 'no' would have been sufficient." In an act of   
  
defiance to Amy's lecture, he took a long, exaggerated sip of the Scotch. She   
  
seemed unaffected.  
  
Which was hardly surprising. When she had first entered his home with   
  
the intentions of picking his brain, he had naturally resisted. If not for Molly's   
  
safety, he would have refused this interview, but his past seemed to be the key to   
  
unlocking his future. The more he knew of his past, the Negaverse, and his   
  
individual powers, the more he could protect Molly and himself from Zoicite .   
  
It seemed that Sailor Mercury, or Amy as the scouts had revealed to him,   
  
was the only person who could solve the mystery of his past. Despite the fact that   
  
she was here to help him, the two were quite weary of each other, being such   
  
fierce recent enemies.   
  
He finished his drink and sat down in a leather chair across from the petite   
  
young girl. Fixing a fierce look of impatience on his face, he evenly said, "I'd   
  
advise you to keep this quick, Mercury. Having tea parties with little girls is   
  
hardly my idea of fun."  
  
"You are wasting your time if you think that you will intimidate me,   
  
Nephlyte."  
  
Flashing an appraising look at his former enemy, he could only agree. Her   
  
soft features had become rigid and her eyes flashed icy blue fire. "Indeed. And   
  
when should Mars arrive?"  
  
"Soon. We will place you under hypnosis, and I will ask you simple recall   
  
questions, a cognitive exam, if you will. Rei will appeal to your subconscious   
  
memories."  
  
He nearly laughed. "Ah, sort of like a junior high séance?"  
  
Amy chose to ignore that comment. "I will ask you to relax and allow us   
  
to delve into the recesses of your mind. This is extremely important to our   
  
mission tonight. You must remain calm and compliant."  
  
Nephlyte raised a speculative eyebrow.  
  
"On my honor, we will not harm you."  
  
It was a sincere oath, one that he would trust. "Very well, I accept." He   
  
laid his head on the back of the chair and tried to ease the tension in his body.   
  
After several moments, he heard the door to the study open softly as Mars   
  
entered. He pretended to close his eyes but opened them slightly so he could pay   
  
close attention to them. She and Amy had a whispered conversation, one that he   
  
could barely make out. Rei's voice was much more forceful, easier to understand   
  
than Amy's softly whispered sentences.  
  
"...recording device...you must...computer..." Amy gestured at her   
  
laptop and handed Rei a small black object.  
  
"...I agree...if we monitored his vital signs...would be important to the   
  
translation...will try to explain the visions in full detail...only after he   
  
sleeps...not dangerous..."  
  
No longer caring if they noticed him, Nephlyte watched with wide eyes as   
  
Rei began to unpack things from a black satchel that she had brought with her.   
  
Candles were placed around the room and lit, while Amy turned out the lamps   
  
and adjusted things on her computer. She placed a video and audio recording   
  
device next to his chair.   
  
Strange scents reached his nostrils as Mars began to speak softly to him.   
  
She knelt before him and looked deeply into his eyes.  
  
"Nephlyte, it is extremely important that you trust me. Trust that I am   
  
only gathering information that we need to discover the secrets of your past. It   
  
was with my visions that I found you to be human, and it will be with my visions   
  
that I will learn the rest of your story. Throughout this procedure, I will be   
  
touching your face and your hands. Take comfort from my presence and my   
  
voice." Rei reached for his left hand and was pleased when he did not pull away   
  
from her.  
  
  
  
"We will be monitoring your vital signs as we ask you questions." Amy   
  
began strapping equipment to his body. "Will this equipment distract you?"  
  
Nephlyte looked into Amy's kind eyes and regretted his harsh treatment of   
  
her earlier. "No, it is quite comfortable."  
  
Mars smiled. "Good. Let us get started." She walked around his chair   
  
and placed her hands gently on either side of his head. "I will ask you to pick an   
  
object in the room and focus on it. Let the tension drain from your body and get   
  
used to the feel of my hands."  
  
  
  
He focused on a flickering candle across the room and let the strange   
  
aromas of the room capture his senses. Surprisingly, he found that he had to   
  
struggle to stay conscious. Fighting it only for a few seconds, he fell into a light   
  
trance.  
  
Rei gently stroked his temples as the minutes ticked by. She began to sing   
  
softly, and ancient song that her grandfather had taught her, and, along with the   
  
lyrical sounds coming from her mouth, the scents of the ceremonial candles   
  
carried his mind away from his surroundings. A tranquil expression relaxed the   
  
usually rigid features of his face. When she felt that he had succumbed to the   
  
hypnotic spell, she softly said, "Show me who you are, Nephlyte."  
  
She closed her eyes and willed the visions to inhabit her mind.  
  
A beautiful woman stepped from the shadows of an enormous throne   
  
room. Golden red hair curled and tumbled down her back and was only a few   
  
inches shy of the marble floor beneath her crystal encased feet. The only   
  
hindrance of that beautiful mass was an elegant golden crown that encircled her   
  
head. The folds of her scarlet dress shimmered a royal purple if the light hit it   
  
precisely in those areas.  
  
Her delicate fingers curved around the end of a long golden scepter. With   
  
a grace that can only be inherited, she floated to the single throne and surveyed   
  
her subjects.   
  
Her red lips curved into a pleased smile. "I see that all of my subjects are   
  
here," her silky voice purred. "I would like you to meet my commanders." Her   
  
next command was a surprise - for all of the reserve and silkiness that her voice   
  
contained before, it was lost with her clearly bellowed order. "Come forward!   
  
My commanders!" Four men dissolved out of the crowd and stepped up to meet   
  
the queen.  
  
The man that Rei knew to be Nephlyte turned to face the court with his   
  
fellow commanders. The queen passed each of them and, in turn, each knelt   
  
before her and kissed her hand. He softly murmured, "Queen Beryl", as he did   
  
so.  
  
The vision faded as another took its place.  
  
Two fierce blue eyes narrowed into Nephlyte's eyes.  
  
  
  
He observed the woman with a smirk. What was once a silky evening   
  
dress was torn and dirty. Her golden hair escaped most untidily from her hairpins   
  
and a bloody gash marred her upper arm.  
  
  
  
She spit at his feet and spoke with a clear voice. "I will DIE first, do you   
  
hear me? You are a traitorous bast-"  
  
The surroundings took on distinct details. What looked like pools of   
  
golden water were stained with the blood of dead bodies all around them. The air   
  
was humid and hazy - a sure sign of a turbulent atmosphere heavy with the   
  
aftershocks of a fierce battle. A castle in the distance reflected the fierce sunlight   
  
off of it's battered walls. Smoke rose all around them. The sun was hot and the   
  
air had a strange smell to it.  
  
Another man to Nephlyte's left clicked his tongue.  
  
"Now, is that any way for a princess to speak?" The man, who had long   
  
white-blond hair, reached to touch her face. "Do as Nephlyte asks and surrender."  
  
A tear fell down the young woman's dirty cheek and a moment of silence   
  
followed. Her beautiful face passed through many emotions, including love, pain,   
  
pity, regret, and lastly anger. Her mouth slowly began to thin and her eyes   
  
narrowed. Her composure regained, her blonde hair fanned around her as she   
  
swung to meet his gaze. "You've underestimated me again, Kunzite. Once, I   
  
warned you to never repeat that transgression." Icy fire stirred in her gaze as she   
  
stared at the handsome man.  
  
Kunzite's eyes remained calm. He released her chin. "I've never seen   
  
you before, little girl."  
  
The third man of lesser rank than Kunzite and Nephlyte, who was sure he   
  
had a firm hold on the woman, never saw her attack coming.  
  
The icy glow from her eyes began to spread throughout her body. The   
  
tattered golden dress she wore repaired itself and dissolved into nothing. With   
  
soft murmurs in yet another language that sounded like a fairy's song, the winds   
  
of the strange surroundings seemed to obey her commands. Her pale hair grew   
  
and whipped around her body as the gold-flecked dust of the earth swirled at her   
  
feet. With a shout that resounded across all of the visible lands, blinding light   
  
hurled from her petite body and disintegrated the body of the soldier that no   
  
longer held her.  
  
Rei could feel Nephlyte's physical pain as the light began to cover him   
  
and Kunzite as well. She knew that they had barely escaped death from the   
  
impassioned woman who had narrowly escaped death herself, at the hands of the   
  
evil that had apparently destroyed her people and her lands.  
  
Rei's breath began to come in short pants, and she feared that she could   
  
not physically bear many more visions. After a few seconds, she placed her   
  
forehead to Nephlyte's and whispered, "Go back even further. Who were you   
  
before you were a commander in Queen Beryl's army?"  
  
She could feel herself being sucked into a powerful memory.  
  
A monster peered into his eyes. It's nearly-black eyes burned with an   
  
eerie intelligence that made him shiver. The scaly skin of its fingers touched his   
  
naked torso and spoke to something on its left.   
  
His skin had continued to crawl when the creature turned toward him   
  
again and touched his temple. Pain, unbearable and intense, shot through his   
  
entire body as his skin burned from invisible hot oil that melted it into angry red   
  
boils. In the next minute, the skin was completely healed and the pain was gone.  
  
Nephlyte bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed. He began to vomit but   
  
only his pride kept the tears from flowing down his cheeks.  
  
  
  
The woman that haunted his dreams, his Princess Jupiter, walked to his   
  
side. He could not contain his surprised.  
  
She merely smiled, her soft brown eyes gazing lovingly into his.   
  
"Nephlyte, please join the queen in her mission. We have all succumbed to her   
  
mighty power, please, do so too." She lowered her head to his and kissed him   
  
passionately.   
  
His heart knew that she was merely hologram, an element of deception   
  
created by Queen Beryl, but he kissed her anyway. She asked for his allegiance   
  
again, but, as he had done for many torture-filled days now, he rejected the offer.   
  
  
  
Instead of dissolving into an angry, screaming Queen Beryl, the princess   
  
that he loved merely nodded. The image of his ladylove walked away from the   
  
platform that he was chained to and pulled a man out of the shadows of the room.   
  
With a sly smile towards Nephlyte, she began to kiss the man. Other images   
  
followed, some so deceitful and adulterous that Nephlyte nearly vomited again.   
  
With a cry of rage, he cursed the queen for such false images and allowed   
  
the pain to drain from his heart. It was not real. He knew it was not real. The   
  
images disappeared.  
  
"Noooo!" the redheaded woman screamed, her face appearing a mere inch   
  
from his own. "I wanted your knowledge of Earth and the moon for my own!   
  
And yet, all four of you have resisted torture, threats, and eternal life with your   
  
princesses to keep it for yourself. Damn you all, guardians of the Earth Prince!"   
  
She stamped her heeled shoes on the marble floor of the torture chamber so hard   
  
that one of the cracked.   
  
  
  
Several silent moments passed. When she had calmed down, she smiled   
  
wickedly. "Very well, noble Nephlyte. With or without your special knowledge   
  
- I must have you. I will simply have to MAKE you mine." Soft laughter escaped   
  
her crimson lips. "This MAY sting a little..." She pointed her scepter to his heart   
  
and blasted the full force of her evil magic into him.  
  
  
  
The pain was unbearable, and he screamed and cried. His only coherent   
  
thought was to fight off his assailant.  
  
With a startled cry, Rei threw herself out of striking range. With a series   
  
of sounds and commands, she brought her subject back to a peaceful state of   
  
mind. "Nephlyte will wake in a few minutes." She focused worried violet eyes   
  
upon her intelligent friend. "Ami, he's been brainwashed. VIOLENTLY  
  
brainwashed."  
  
Ami's hands shook as she took the videotape out of the recorder. "Rei,   
  
whatever you saw, it's on this tape. Luna and Serena should know about this -   
  
we'll call an emergency Sailor Scout meeting tomorrow after school." She slowly   
  
slipped it into its case, and she and Rei began to thoughtfully pack up their   
  
equipment.  
  
The two girls left the mansion half and hour later, leaving a weakened   
  
Nephlyte sleeping fitfully.  
  
****  
  
Sailor Jupiter had emerged. With a cry of outrage the glowing symbol on   
  
the girl's forehead marked the arrival of the fourth sailor scout.  
  
Luna assessed the situation, noting with dry humor that their "hero" had   
  
not come to save Sailor Moon THIS time. Perhaps the mysterious Tuxedo Mask   
  
was an enemy sent to distract the champion of justice. The Lunarian would have   
  
applauded his absence if the situation had not been so dire.  
  
Serena was on her own in the fight against a game machine champ turned   
  
evil - by the Negaforce no doubt. And, what had Zoicite 's speech on rainbow   
  
crystals been about? Luna was determined to find out.  
  
Serena's transformation had surprised the tall brunette. Serena had, no   
  
doubt, made friends with the girl and brought her to Tokyo's finest arcade. When   
  
one of the boys had left the arcade, the two followed, unwittingly caught in   
  
another scheme plotted by Queen Beryl. With no time to spare and in flashes of   
  
light, Sailor Moon had arrived.  
  
Strangely enough, the other had angrily joined the fight and had revealed   
  
her true nature. Luna reacted quickly, giving the girl instructions on how to   
  
transform.  
  
In a swirling background of green sparkles, the scent of a storm preceded a   
  
force to be reckoned with - an attack of fierce thunder and deadly electricity. It   
  
was a moment that Luna would always remember, as she had with the first attack   
  
of the other three scouts.  
  
Hours later, four girls talked animatedly about school (mostly Amy), boys   
  
(Serena and Lita), and the situation with the Negaverse (mostly Rei and Amy,   
  
with frequent interruptions about Tuxedo Mask's absence from the most recent   
  
fight by Serena).  
  
After the conversation started to die down, Amy gestured toward her bag   
  
and grimly stated, "The tape is ready and I think you all need to see it. If you   
  
have a weak stomach, I suggest you leave the room."  
  
Everyone looked at Serena. "Excuse me? I can handle this, and, after all,   
  
I am your leader." She pompously swept her ponytails over her shoulders as her   
  
face took on an arrogant expression.  
  
Rei opened her mouth to argue the point but stopped when Ami held up   
  
her hand. "Remember, we will be seeing...situations...as Nephlyte's broken   
  
mind remembers them. This is, in no way, a truth that could be verified and   
  
labeled as fact. It is important to keep in mind that you will be seeing this through   
  
Nephlyte's eyes, just as he sees them. Everything on the tape is like this with a   
  
few exceptions, and these scenes are ones that Nephlyte has either fantasized or   
  
imaged how other people viewed the situation." She turned to Rei. "I realize that   
  
you have seen this, but the tape will be different than what you saw. The   
  
recording is somewhat broken, and it would be helpful if you explained certain   
  
things to us."  
  
With a controlled breath, walked to the VCR and began to slip the tape in.  
  
She's afraid, Serena thought, as she unconsciously inched closer to Rei. If   
  
it scares Ami...  
  
The screen went blurry, and just as Serena was about to complain, a dark,   
  
menacing room took shape. She and the other girls watched the four men turn   
  
and greet the audience...that seemed to be somewhat inhuman. However, the   
  
figures were so blurry that it was hard to tell for certain.  
  
Lita gasped slightly as Nephlyte turned around and faced the audience.  
  
Serena, misunderstanding Lita's distress, patted her hand. "It is a bit   
  
scary, isn't it?"  
  
The newly appointed Sailor Jupiter merely nodded and tried to calm down.   
  
That was the man from the other night...the one she had... Her face began to   
  
burn, and she prayed that the other girls didn't notice.  
  
The room faded and went black. The screen fuzzed slightly as the next   
  
scene unsteadily came to focus. The exchange between the girl and the man   
  
called Kunzite came to a halt when Ami paused the tape.  
  
She pointed to the background of the paused film. "Have any of you seen   
  
such a landscape? While I am aware of the fact that Nephlyte has certainly   
  
distorted some of the memory, this is too much of a distortion. Golden pools...?"  
  
"The air also had a strange smell to it, Ami. I remember that. There were   
  
other details to the land that is not showing up here. Such as the unnatural   
  
haziness, brownish skies, and choking humidity." Rei walked to the screen and   
  
pointed to the girl and the silver-haired man. "I don't know if you guys noticed,   
  
but this exchange with this man is really painful for her."   
  
She took the liberty to press the play button, so the girls could see the   
  
unexpected attack that came from her slender body. "There are only a couple of   
  
things that could have enabled her to do this - Negaverse power or Sailor power."  
  
Ami shook her head vigorously. "Who could this girl be? My thoughts   
  
are that she was a member of the alliance to the Moon Kingdom. During the   
  
Silver Millennium."  
  
Serena's ponytails shook as she disagreed. "But, Ami, that would mean   
  
that Nephlyte is over a thousand years old!"  
  
The stricken look on Lita's face along with a sharp intake of breath got the   
  
girls' attention. The tape had continued to play and Lita had continued to watch.  
  
Rei looked toward the screen. "Oh my gosh! Lita...that's you!"  
  
The three didn't notice her lose consciousness as their eyes continued to   
  
focus on the screen and the woman that lowered her head to kiss the tortured   
  
general.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Until next time! :)  
  
Copyright 2003  
  
References  
  
http://www.iit.edu/~mars/mars.html  
  
http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/  
  
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/venus020422.html 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. I will try to complete the story as soon as possible.  
  
© 2003  
  
Classical music swirled through the room, circling through cool air and down to the ears of a young general as he contemplated his blurry past and uncertain future. Shirtless, he was stretched on one of his comfortable leather couches in a pair of faded blue jeans. Red light filtered through the windows, indicating the pending dusk. Nephlyte stared at the textured ceiling, not seeing it or anything else but the two women in his life. Sometimes he felt like two different people.  
On one hand, he felt a deep affection for the girl who had saved him from hell, the girl who loved him dearly. He wanted to be the man she told him he could now be without the sustaining power of the Negaverse. He wanted to tell Molly how dearly he cherished her and fulfill all of her sweet human dreams. He tried so hard to be pure and good for her. On the other, he felt powerful, earthly, and so utterly free. He wanted to drink wine, drive fast cars, and play loud music. He wanted to sing and dance in the rain, feel damp sand beneath his feet, and swim in the ocean. He wanted to find the object of his obsession, kiss her again, and love her until he died. His heart reeled and his eyes nearly watered at the blissful thought. His mind ached at his betrayal. Guilt washed through him at his thoughts. While he had partially repaired the damage he had done to Molly days before, she remained reserved and vulnerable with him. She would only meet him in public areas, never questioning his despicable behavior. He didn't bother to bring the subject up either. Their cold goodbyes revealed the depth of Molly's pain. He didn't know what to say or how to fix it. In the meantime, the green eyes that had so savagely ripped his attention from the sweet Molly had continued to haunt his dreams.  
A knock at his front door forced him from his disconcerting thoughts. He jumped up from the couch so fast that he became a bit dizzy. Throwing on a white button-up shirt that he had tossed across a nearby recliner, Nephlyte prayed it was Molly. His long legs crossed the parlor in no time, and, wishing he hadn't moments later, he opened the door widely.  
"Hello, Nephlyte," Serena greeted coolly, sweeping arrogantly into his home. She threw him a narrowed glance after peering swiftly through the rest of the room, obviously trying to detect an enemy.  
He nearly gritted his teeth in irritation and resisted the urge to simultaneously yank her ponytails in different directions. "Sailor Moon. I don't remember inviting you over."  
"Why should you? You didn't invite me over. I'm on official Sailor Business." Her eyes lingered on the fraction of Nephlyte's bronze chest as he buttoned up his shirt, and for a moment, she was genuinely jealous of her friend.  
He closed the door with a resolute click. "An intellectual affair, I'm sure."  
"Of course it is, you chauvinist pig! In a few minutes, the rest of the gang will be coming to ask you some questions-"  
"How thrilling."  
"-and I wanted to ask you a few before everyone got here so you will be prepared." And so I will get in a few questions of my own before Rei takes over the conversation.  
Nephlyte smirked, walking into the kitchen to help himself to a glass of red wine – he would ignore her presence as long as she would allow it. He started counting the seconds on his fingers. The impatient blonde simply could not hold her tongue.  
As predicted, a vexed Serena followed him.  
He kept his back to her. Jumping up to sit on his countertop, resting her hands on either side of her knees, she asked, "What do you know about Princess Jupiter? Who is she and how are you connected?"  
The color drained from Nephlyte's face. As he abruptly spun around to meet Serena's eyes to see what she knew, his wineglass dropped to the kitchen floor, splattering fragments of glass and staining red liquid throughout the room. As Serena surveyed the damage, Nephlyte was transfixed upon the image in his mind.  
Princess Jupiter.  
In a flash, images of a woman flickered through his brain, the elegant column of her pale neck, the kissable hollow at the base of her throat, beautifully shaped lips that tempted him unmercifully...the vision began to fade.  
He tried to focus more fully on the images, only causing them to retreat faster. They meant something, caused his heart to beat faster, but he could not evoke the significance of them. After another second, he could barely remember any details. He shook his head forcefully, trying to grasp the ancient memories, but it did not help.  
"Why does my question disturb you so much?" Serena spoke softly into the silence, a rich, enchanting sound that surprised him for a moment. The girl almost sounded...mature.  
Another knock at Nephlyte's door sounded throughout the parlor, reaching their ears in the kitchen.  
He was truly thankful for the intrusion. While he thought her to be impatient, whiny, and truly irritating, the young girl was certainly perceptive.  
Serena squealed, killing any notion in Nephlyte's mind about her maturity and revealing that her "Sailor Business" was of the singular kind, the singular NOT-SUPPOSED-TO-BE-THERE kind. Nephlyte smiled deviously, crossed the parlor with haste, and swung the door wide open. The two ladies staring into his face were surprised at the speedy welcome.  
"Hello, Mars and Mercury. Serena has been here asking the most PECULIAR questions." A fleeting glare from Sailor Mars to Sailor Moon gave him a deep sense of satisfaction. He continued. "Perhaps you can shed some light on the situation."  
Amy nodded. "Perhaps we can, Nephlyte. Meet Lita, Sailor Jupiter. NEWLY APPOINTED Sailor Jupiter." She tugged a young lady into view from somewhere on her right.  
Had he another glass of wine, it would have crashed to the floor as well. The woman of his enthrallment unflinchingly met his gaze with her striking green eyes. Grateful for his underindulgence in spirits this particular night, he masterfully spared them both an awkward moment by steadily introducing himself.  
He bowed slightly, then, "I am Lord Nephlyte, former enemy and Negaverse General. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance." His deep voice never wavered.  
Lita could hardly believe her eyes OR her ears. She could barely hear his words over the heated rush of blood to her face and the adrenaline blast that left her body weak and shaken. She murmured her greeting, deliberately sidestepping his outstretched hand. His eyebrows rose sharply, but if she touched him, she knew she would fall apart.  
He seemed unaffected by her presence, and if not for her memory and the unusual sparkle in his beautiful eyes, she would have questioned the incident altogether. Unlike him, she had ample time to prepare for this inevitable meeting. At the insistence of Rei, the connection between Nephlyte and Princess Jupiter would be examined. Her personal connection to Princess Jupiter would most certainly be inspected at a later date.  
He led them to the study, his eyes flickering briefly at Lita as she passed by. She smelled of spiced apples, an unusual scent for woman to wear. Most women he had dealings with smelled of delicate flowers, not a bold scent that made his head reel. He wanted to pull her close to him and drown himself in her perfume. When it became uncomfortable to walk, he abruptly sat down in the nearest chair and directed the others to do so.  
Her thick hair was pulled into an unruly ponytail that cascaded in dark curls down her back. He imagined that when it was down it surely reached a point well past her waist. His eyes trailed up from her feet, encased in small leather sandals, her long shapely legs, the hem of her light green dress, her slender waist...as his eyes traveled heavenward, his breath hitched. By the time he made it to her deep green eyes, he had to physically stop himself from crossing the room, plucking her out of the leather chair, and carrying her to a more private setting.  
Observant Amy noticed Nephlyte's momentary discomfort. "Too much wine?"  
He cleared his throat and easily met her inquisitive gaze. "Not enough apparently." Nephlyte knew he had to rid himself of the stupefying fascination. He feigned irritation, and, throwing an accusatory hand in Lita's direction, he snidely remarked, "And so another scout is born. Tell me...LITA...how it feels to be the most recent champion of justice."  
For the life of her, she could not imagine why he presented such a hostile façade. Granted, their first meeting had been quite intimate, but he had no solid reason to be impolite to her. In any case, hearing him say her name in such a fashion pricked her temper and injured her pride. Whether they feigned ignorance or antagonism in the presence of each other, she would win this battle if it killed her. "Probably better than being the newest Negaverse reject...Nephlyte," she replied smoothly. Lita made a special effort to bat her long, dark eyelashes at him. TOUCHÉ.  
Serena laughed noisily, breaking the strained moment between the handsome man and the other girls.  
Without further delay, Rei hastily began to tell Nephlyte of the tape, her methods of analysis, and the deductions she had made. "...And when we saw a lady who you recognized as Princess Jupiter on the tape, she looked exactly like Lita-"  
"Rei had to get out the smelling salts to revive her!"  
"Shut UP, Serena. Anyway, if you have any memory of her, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the princess." Rei folded her hands in her lap and watched him expectedly.  
He would tell them nothing about the girl who identified herself as Lita, nor about the brief glimpses of the stunning woman in his visions he'd had since Rei had opened up THAT can of worms. "I'm sure you could tell me more about her than I could tell you, Sailor Mars. As for tonight, I am tired and quite stressed, so I would ask you all to leave. After all, your mommies will need you home by bedtime."  
As he strode from the room, he pointedly ignored the newly appointed Sailor Jupiter.   
  
She knew that had she stayed in Nephlyte's home any longer, her face would have revealed everything she had tried so hard to hide from them all. Lita was almost grateful for his inexcusably rude ejection from his home the previous evening. The facts were startling. The kiss in the storm was merely a doorway to fiercer emotions and potential occurrences that were to come. It scared her to think that she had such little control over her feelings, and even scarier, her actions. An intense twinge twisted through her heart. At this point, she recognized its urgency as the desperate pangs of love for a man whose name she had not yet known for an entire day. His face, at a forefront since the night of the storm and even more so since yesterday evening, danced in her memory. She tensed, not wanting to give herself up to the handsome visage, but finding herself unable to resist the pull.  
Lita toyed with her transformation pen, contemplating on whether to throw it into the glittering pond before her. She knew that her recent troubles were all connected to the stick and the intriguing symbol that it displayed. After all, Sailor Jupiter and Princess Jupiter had to be one and the same – even an idiot could make the connection. Unfortunately, only a genius could decode it. She twirled the object through her long fingers, feeling its magic, power, and responsibility. It was terrifying.  
The sun was setting before her, casting unusual shadows through the park. She hugged her knees, failing to notice the damp ground that she sat on, the chill of the evening air, or quieting atmosphere.  
Could she rid herself of Sailor Jupiter and grant the curse to someone else? Or was Sailor Jupiter part of her, so much a part of her that if she extinguished the identity, she would also succeed in slaying herself?  
Making a defiant decision, she stood up and stretched back her arm, ready and willing to throw it all away. Her fist closed loosely around the pen, and she closed her eyes tightly, fearing yet anticipating the small thunk of the pond's acceptance of her offering and perhaps her life.  
Two heartbeats later, slender fingers closed around her fist. Startled, Lita spun around and met the dark eyes of Rei.  
"You know, I tried this once as well. Amy caught me just in time." Rei smiled, took the pen from Lita's hand and studied it for a moment. "It's just as beautiful as mine. You know, it is a big responsibility, but you should be having the time of your life with it at first. Serena probably hasn't got on your nerves even once." Her mouth tightened. "But, she will. She makes me want to choke something...especially her." Rei's fierce look softened, revealing to Lita that despite their differences, she loved Serena dearly.  
Lita laughed, relieved that Rei had spared her a lecture. She pocketed her transformation pen, thankful for Rei's timely interruption of her attempted disposal of the beautiful stick. "I was truly going to throw it away, Rei. It would be so simple, you know, to toss that thing away and never think of it...or other things...again." She sat down again upon the ground, staring pensively into the rippling water near the edge of the pond.  
Rei settled herself down next to Lita. "I don't quite understand the connection between you and Nephlyte..." She trailed off, fixing her dark eyes on Lita's green ones.  
She knew that Rei expected an explanation but was too polite to ask outright. "It would probably benefit us both if you could draw on my...past...memories. As is the case with Nephlyte, there seems to be things I cannot consciously remember."  
The girls faced the water for long minutes, contemplating their own personal investment in the matter. Rei worried about the exhausting readings of hypnosis while Lita worried what might be revealed. Both were reluctant to complete the task, but neither could deny the considerable benefits of such an undertaking.  
Standing up abruptly, Rei brushed the grass off of the back of her skirt. "Make no plans for tomorrow night, Lita. I'll meet you both at the temple – tell Nephlyte for me, will you?"  
With that, she left.   
  
A stronger man would have gently led the ladies from his home with a smile on his face and steady gestures. A stronger man would cherish the girl who had saved him from the Negaverse, forsaking all others, including a curvy brunette that was linked to his past in some intimate way. A stronger man would have banished any thoughts of another woman to the far caverns of his mind, refusing to allow those thoughts to consume him.  
He was weak.  
Nephlyte's dreams tortured him through the night. He had visions of a beautiful emerald castle, a delicate gem in a sea of treacherous storms. He saw Princess Jupiter alongside of him in a formal ceremony, offering him her hand and a dazzling smile. There were dreams that woke him from his sleep in sweaty terror that centered around her as well. By her own hand, a shiny knife was thrust into her heart, leaving behind a trickle of dark red blood flowing from her wound. She cried and cried, calling out his name, and she fell to the ground in a broken heap.  
He woke again. By that time, he fell to his knees and prayed to the god of creation for relief. Near morning, he dreamt of four ladies standing around the princess, gathering power for Jupiter's revival. The wound was healed, her tears dried, and her countenance changed. A hardened...warrior...had replaced the delicate princess. She looked as though she feared nothing. It was a favorable outcome to death, one that carried him over in peace until sunrise.  
A rumpled Nephlyte left his menacing mansion around noon. He was to meet Molly for lunch, and, hopefully succeed in exiling his traitorous thoughts and feelings permanently. The sweet girl, who he certainly loved a great deal, would be put through no more heartache at his expense.  
An hour later, his tired eyes were drinking in the sight of a very nervous Molly. He reached across the smooth table, now devoid of all the consumed food, and took her exceptionally small hands into his much larger ones. They were so pale, he noticed, as he gazed at her slender fingers undecorated by bands of gold or jewels.  
"Molly, I've been trying to come up with a suitable explanation for my behavior for days now. And, the truth is, I can't." His lopsided smile masked the falsehood easily. "Sometimes new feelings I have in this world are so...SHOCKING that I forget they are so normal for everyone else." A pink blush lit her face as he said, "And that PARTICULAR feeling was rather startling."  
He laughed with relief, thankful that he was on the right track. Did human males always have such difficulty with females?  
"I, uh..." he cleared his throat nervously, "I would like to have you over again...for dinner one night. You have my deepest apologies, Molly, I hope that you can find my behavior forgivable."  
A slow smile spread across her face until she was beaming. She got up, walked to his side of the booth, and threw her arms around him. "I love you, Nephlyte." She kissed both of his cheeks and buried her face into his chest.  
Another attack of shame pierced his momentary happiness. He managed to squelch it as he hugged her back. "You're always in my heart, Molly."   
  
"I knew I would find you here. Like a scent on the wind, it seems that I could follow you wherever you go, Nephlyte."  
Nephlyte turned, disturbed from the peaceful sound of the ocean waves crashing on the deserted beach. He wasn't surprised to see Lita standing across from him, her hair blowing in the wind. "You could have tried my HOUSE."  
His azure eyes were mere slits amidst his tan, mistrusting face. His bangs fell in his face carelessly. The white silk shirt he wore was open to the waist over khaki pants that were damp at the hems from the salty waves. In this disheveled state, he was far more handsome than she'd ever seen him...and more dangerous.  
She took off her shoes and tested the ocean waters delicately with her toes. It was quite warm for a late September afternoon. "True, but I wouldn't have found you and then where would we be?" She offered him a forced smile as the tide swirled around her ankles. Her sandals were hanging from her index finger and were swinging slightly in the breeze.  
"We'd have our sanity and control of our emotions," he replied softly, no longer pretending to forget the situation between them. He refused to look at her and chose to walk up the beach instead. It was her choice to follow or not.  
Lita sighed, happy that he finally acknowledged her for who she was. Her long legs quickly ate up the distance between them as she caught up. She was careful to leave several feet of space between. "I know. We can no longer pretend it is not there. Our past still beckons us...and I, for one, am powerless to resist it." She was careful not to inch closer to him as she said, "I no longer want to. My heart, whether mine or Princess Jupiter's, wants you."  
His eyebrows rose, but he said nothing. His pace increased.  
Feet slapping against the wet sand, she practically had to jog to keep up with him. "I don't think it's anything to fear...but, it IS a bit...intense sometimes. We just have to sort it out in our heads."  
His shirt billowed around him momentarily as a gust of wind swirled about them. "That's quite an understatement, Miss Jupiter."  
The space between them got slimmer.  
She denied it, refusing to adopt his pessimistic attitude of their strange situation. Lita was making good progress in accepting who and what she was – it felt so natural.  
Nephlyte stopped suddenly, catching her waist between his large hands. He forcefully pulled her to him, thankful that her height allowed him to look into her eyes. "Not that intense, you say? What's to stop us from doing this-", his lips lightly brushed hers, "-or this-", he kissed her harder, "or even this?" He took full possession of her mouth, pressing her body against his. In minutes, they were breathless but could find no mercy in each other. This time, they weren't lost in murmurs of strange languages and foreign emotions – they were presently lost in each other.  
With a grunt of supreme effort, he savagely tore his mouth from hers, instantly missing the warmth of her kisses. "This is madness!" he proclaimed, lifting his eyes to the heavens. He avoided her gaze as he asked, "What drove you to seek me out, Jupiter?! Do you not understand the danger you are in with me? Are you so young that you cannot possibly understand what my every instinct drives me to do?" Fire raged in his blue eyes even as he looked away.  
She refused to cry, as she knew what he said to be true. It WAS madness. "I came to you to inform you that Rei would like to see us. Tonight. I thought it best to inform you myself-"  
"Well, you thought wrong!" he roared, ignoring the startled expression on her face. He turned to her and pointed a finger in her direction. "You tell Rei that I will no longer be subjected to her readings. Between her readings and your...presence, my every moment on Earth has been plagued!" He turned and stalked up the beach to a red Ferrari. Forcefully jerking open the door, he got inside and sped off.  
Lita's tears were lost in the turbulent winds and soft misting of an upcoming storm.   
  
The following afternoon, he strolled through a church cemetery, anxious for a reprieve from his home, where memories of the recent and ancient past churned within the walls. His head pounded and his body ached from the unrelenting stress. Earth was so foreign to him. Nephlyte would never miss the Negaverse, but at least it was familiar. He knew the ways of life, although they were evil. It was something he felt comfortable with. The cemetery offered him solid footing in this time of uncertainty – one of death and pain, the driving forces of the Negaverse.  
Nephlyte did not notice another person arriving and was startled when the approaching minister spoke to him. Still, an old urge to kill lurked in his blood, and he surveyed the priest warily. He fought the instinct to act first and ask questions later, and won, finding the man to be no real threat.  
"Hello, friend. Are you visiting a loved one?" The man's kind eyes reassured Nephlyte. The man kept a cushion of distance between them, further putting Nephlyte at ease. He felt vibrations of kindness from the man, the similar sort of vibrations he felt from Molly.  
"No...these grounds are strangely comforting to me." The man nodded, and Nephlyte continued. "I suppose I am experiencing some confusion at the moment. Is daily life on this planet always so...perplexing?"  
The other man laughed softly, patting Nephlyte on the shoulder as he did so. "Most feel this way when they believe themselves to be in love." He chuckled heartily at Nephlyte's startled expression. "You will get used to the feeling, son. The woman you love will show you the way."  
Nephlyte glanced away from the man's perceptive gaze. How would the devout man of cloth react to the truth? That there were TWO women who could possibly show him the way...  
They were silent for a moment. Nephlyte decided he would reveal no more.  
A shower of blossoms danced forcibly in the air, momentarily lifting Nephlyte's thick hair off of his shoulders. A sense of foreboding inched up his spine as he recognized its meaning – Zoisite, who materialized instantly in the air above them. The smaller general laughed as he faced Nephlyte. "Who gives you power now traitor? I have your dark crystal now, and HE"- Zoisite threw the crystal in the priest's direction and it began to spin-"is mine!"  
A fierce light encircled the priest, and with anguished cries, a monster took over his body.  
Nephlyte felt his blood thicken as his head pounded, and his adrenalin rushed as he felt ancient magic give him strength. Strong powers transformed his body into a magical warrior, and he was able to face Zoisite as an equal. He stared at his outstretched arms and his chest, garbed in armor that was strangely familiar.  
Zoisite looked a bit taken back but quickly shook the surprise from his gaze and shouted, "And so, the crystal shall be mine as well!" He darted towards the disfigured priest. Zoisite's fist had just begun to close around the sparkling orange crystal when a golden tiara knocked his hand away.  
Nephlyte nearly rolled his eyes when Sailor Moon's arrogant shout reverberated about the grounds. "Back off, Negatrash! That crystal belongs to us!" Silhouetted by the setting sun stood Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury.  
Zoisite merely laughed again, instructing the monster to attack them. He began to grab for the crystal again, this time thwarted by Tuxedo Mask's piercing rose. Pandemonium ensued as Nephlyte stood, trying not to laugh at Zoisite's predicament with the orange crystal that Tuxedo Mask had just snagged while simultaneously trying not to laugh at Sailor Moon's clumsy escapes from the strange looking monster. All of his enemies (though not so much Sailor Mercury, who he had come to faintly respect) fighting each other – he was the victor by default!  
As Tuxedo Mask rushed to aid Sailor Moon, Zoisite focused his attentions to his most hated enemy – a traitor and lover of humans. How he had waited for this moment to kill Nephlyte since learning of his existence. He would not inform Queen Beryl and allow her the pleasure of brainwashing him – Zoisite would feel Nephlyte's blood on his hands if nothing else.  
Nephlyte's deep rumbling laughter jerked Zoisite from his daydreams. "How do you intend on killing me with strength, weakling? Time and again I have proven my superior fighting skills." Nephlyte was a true fighter, and he could taste the satisfaction of an upcoming kill  
The other merely smiled and snapped his fingers. Two youmas appeared on either side of him. "And time and again I have proven my superior intellect over yours. Capture him and bring him to me ALIVE. Your SUPERIOR fighting skills only depend upon fairness – and you will find the odds unfairly in my favor this evening." He disappeared in a flash, but Nephlyte did not miss the sneer on his face.  
Nephlyte's speed could not be outdone by the two unsuspecting youmas, but their skills were impressive. His sword sliced through the air to meet their vulnerable flesh in painful cuts, but they were much too intelligent to fight him for long. While it was a well-known fact of the Negaverse that Lord Nephlyte was a formidable opponent, the two had done their homework and found his weak spot – a tiny captive with large brown eyes and soft brown hair. Molly was utterly unconscious and so very defenseless against their dangerous threats.  
The ugliest youma laughed. "So, my dear Lord Nephlyte. I believe we are at an impasse. Come with me and I will not kill her. You've been in this situation before, and I shouldn't have to explain the rules to you."  
Everyone was oblivious to Molly's predicament except for him. He was meant to die before...it shouldn't matter if he died now. After the thought, a white hot flash of unbearable pain sliced through his head. He was living for Princess Jupiter...only for HER would he so willingly sacrifice his life.  
He shook his head, trying to rid it of those contradicting thoughts. Molly would die - he couldn't have that. Jupiter needed him; he had to live for her. Nephlyte shouted in pain, his hands on either side of his head, and fell to his knees.  
Had Nephlyte heard Sailor Moon, he would have known that the Molly he saw was merely a hologram, a trick designed to toy with his mind. With the searing waves of pain throbbing in his head, he was oblivious to all else. His breath was coming in short pants and his pulse was racing at a dangerous pace, a sure sign of an uncontrollable panic attack in response to a true dilemma.  
The youmas smiled as they reached Nephlyte and began to bind his helpless body. Zoisite would richly repay them. Ahead of them, the faux Molly faded into the humid air. Too bad they couldn't kill the traitor themselves.  
Sailor Moon shouted frantically wanting to save Nephlyte, but still trying to heal the priest from his monstrous state. Tuxedo Mask aided her in this task as well, still clutching the orange crystal in his hand. If someone didn't aid him soon, Nephlyte would die at the hands of the enemy.  
A deafening roar halted the activity in the cemetery. All heads, including Nephlyte's, who was brought back to reality with the powerful cry, turned to the tall brunette thundering upon the scene. Lita's rage could be felt by each of them. Her eyes gleamed unnaturally, and an amazing determination rippled about her.  
"Jupiter Power!" Nephlyte watched in wonder as Lita's nude body was showered in cosmic emerald light. The sunny air shivered as strong electric currents encircled her until she had gloriously transformed into Sailor Jupiter. The warrior wasted no time surveying the situation.  
Her whispers may have been booming shouts for all the power they emitted. "Dear, planet Jupiter...call down the thunder and raise a storm for I have need of you this night!" The darkening sky became even darker when clouds approached at her command. She whispered more commands in that strange language of hers, and threw up her hands to the skies. Her whispered summons became authoritative cries of "Guardian Jupiter! Grant this power to me and banish my foes into the dark recesses of OBLIVION!"  
The furious storm blasted through the grounds when her hands gracefully fell, and everyone was instantly knocked to their feet. The youmas had been transformed into magnificent nothingness, not odd looking corpses or the fine dust Sailor Moon often reduced them to. Only faint burns in the grass indicated they'd ever been a part of the scene.  
Sailor Moon watched Jupiter, stunned at the power she had wielded. She had never seen anything of this force before and was, for once, speechless.  
Everyone remained that way, watching Jupiter's green skirt flutter in the winds of the receding storm, her hair blowing and fanning about her body in unruly tangles, her hair tie lying shredded on the ground beside of her. She looked young and ancient all at once, an unusual mixture of innocence and wisdom.  
She crumpled to the ground. Sailor Moon, Mercury, and the just- arrived Mars rushed to her side. Sailor Jupiter faded, leaving a comatose Lita in her place.  
From somewhere in the chaos, Sailor Mars had appeared, but not too late for her to witness the awesome power of her teenage friend. She clutched Lita's left hand as Sailor Moon clutched her right. Mercury conducted a quick analysis of her vital signs.  
"Her heartbeat is dangerously weak. She used those...incredible powers with every ounce of her strength." Sailor Mercury's eyes brimmed with tears. "I'm afraid we could lose her."  
Sailor Moon burst into tears, consuming the attention from Lita's pale form. And thus, they were all startled when Nephlyte shoved them all out of the way. "I have the ability to heal her." With no further adieu, he scooped Lita into his arms and carried her into the neighboring woods, far away from the chaos and inquisitive eyes.  
As Sailor Mercury turned to run and stop him, Mars placed a firm hand in front of her. "He does not lie, Mercury. There is a strange connection between them...he CAN save her." She turned her eyes to Nephlyte's receding form, and watched with wonder as he held the tall girl in his arms as if she were naught but a small child.   
  
Nephlyte carefully sat down in the soft grass with Lita in his arms. In truth, he was terrified, but deep in his heart, he knew that he could restore her to health.  
He brushed a tangled curl from her cheek and pulled the unconscious brunette so close to him that he could almost feel her heart beat. Nephlyte smiled as a warm feeling flooded his body to the very ends of his toes – it was entirely natural to him. He touched her face, unblemished and smooth, free from the adolescent troubles of most human girls her age. He traced her lips with his fingers, moving to her cheeks, and then to her temples. He wished to see her lovely eyes again, but first...  
He threw back his head and shook his dark mane of hair so that it would fall down his back and not into her face. Shifting slightly, he pulled her chest tightly against his, so her heart was directly against his and steadied her head with his right hand, trying to ignore the way her soft hair felt on his hands and body. Nephlyte began to use the strange earthly magic of his own kind, chanting phrases and physically radiating forceful emotional energy. Within moments, the two were covered in a silver glow, and when it burned the brightest, he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her softly.  
Lita opened her eyes when she felt the warmth surrounding her. Her lips tingled slightly, and she was quite unsurprised to find Nephlyte holding her in his arms. She was comfortably settled in his lap and staring into his concerned eyes.  
She smiled.  
He swallowed hard, noting the strange scent in the air and accepting it as the ancient tie between them.  
"Thank you for saving me," she whispered, reaching to touch the strong line of his jaw.  
Nephlyte resisted the urge to kiss those gentle fingertips. Mentally steeling himself to participate in a verbal conversation instead of physical appreciation, he was able to momentarily shift his focus away from her fingers. In a faint voice, he asked, "Why did you exhaust your power so? Your powers, in moderate strength, would have been sufficient."  
Still mesmerized by his beautiful countenance, she delicately stated, "I was swamped with such anger..." Her eyes became a darker shade of emerald. "At that moment, I decided that I would fight my emotions no longer. I would willingly die before letting them even hurt you, Nephlyte." Her face softened into a smile again, and he felt goose bumps rise all over his body. "Y-you would willingly die? Or would the part of you who is Princess Jupiter willingly die for me?" Once the words had escaped his mouth, he could not take them back. She sat up in his lap and took his face into her hands. She was so close that he could feel her breath on his skin. "All of me, Nephlyte." A tender brush of her kiss left him breathless and weak. "All of me is in love with all of you." She could no longer deny that Princess Jupiter was a part of Lita. Nor did she want to. This time, the overpowering souls of Lord Nephlyte and Princess Jupiter did not interfere with the two. Nephlyte kissed Lita because he wanted HER, not just the princess of his past. Between ardent kisses, he whispered her name, simply because he liked the sound of it on his lips. He urgently laid her down on the grass and stretched out alongside of her. His mouth came to hers immediately. They kissed for many more moments, simply enjoying the feel and taste of the other's kisses. Her long hair blended with his into a mesh of auburn and chocolate pools. The moment was wild and they felt reckless – his hands inched up from her waist to her- Heavy footsteps caused them both to jump. Rei had entered upon intense scene indeed. She blushed as she saw the two of them so tangled together, lying upon a very bruised patch of grass. Their glowing expressions confirmed any questions that she may have had. Lita leaped up immediately, adjusting her clothing and brushing the grass and dirt from her skirt. Her unbound hair covered most of her face, but what was uncovered was clearly blushing. She walked to Rei, avoiding her eyes for most of the way. "I would ask that you hold this in the utmost confidence, Rei. Nephlyte and I are connected by a very intimate past and are simply exploring what it means. I will fill you in on the details when I am ready – please keep our secret safe. This would be quite difficult to explain to the other girls." She took Rei's hand, and when Rei nodded weakly, Lita squeezed it in thanks. Lita left the clearing and the other two in an uncomfortable hush. Nephlyte finally broke the silence. He walked to the raven-haired girl and looked into her anxious eyes. "She doesn't know about Molly, Rei. Spare her heart and Molly's while I sort out my past." Without waiting for her assent, he followed Lita's footsteps out of the woods. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. I will try to complete the story as soon as possible.  
  
© 2004  
  
"Give me your sword." It wasn't a question, but a curt order. Rei avoided his eyes as she expectantly held out her hand for the object in question. After all, she was never one for pointless explanations or small talk.  
The moon was bright that night, and he could easily see the landscape around him. However, the girl was a mystery. A shadow fell over her face, making it difficult for him to read her expression and thus heed her warning.  
Nephlyte laughed softly and crossed his arms. "Funny. There for a moment, I thought you wished to confiscate my only means of protection." He gestured toward the temple behind her. "Shall we get started?"  
Rei's temper blazed at his dismissal, but she continued to cloak the rage she was feeling. "You'll do as you're asked." With a slow breath, she calmed herself before she met his eyes. "It will be returned to your hand before the night is over."  
One side of his mouth curved upward. "If I refuse?" The moment of silence that followed reverberated with the sound of crickets and the soft movement of the tree leaves as a cool night breeze lifted them.  
"Then I will take it from you. This isn't a choice – it's a requirement." Rei did not even blink when he chucked the sword deep into the ground mere inches from her feet. Her annoyance increased when she tried to pull the sword from the ground and found she could not without a heaving effort. She left it in the ground.  
The smirk on his face indicated that he'd noticed her difficulty. "Am I allowed to ask for the reasoning behind this…request, Sailor Mars? I daresay I am confused." He hesitated slightly before mentioning the very root of the tension between them. "I thought we would be performing this hypnosis with Lita here." His rich voice reeked with uncertainty and guilt.  
"I think you've seen enough of Lita for one day," Rei snarled, biting back a stream of colorful insults. Her eyes rested on the sword in front of her, and her head ached from physical restraint. It was imperative that she retain what energy she could, but her swelling temper was becoming impossible to ignore.  
Nephlyte remained silent for a moment. His thoughts zeroed in on his worries. Then, "So you have decided to keep our secret?" His smooth voice did nothing to soothe her surging anger. She found she could take no more.  
Careful to sidestep Nephlyte's sword, she marched within an inch of him, jabbing her finger painfully into his chest as she spoke. "This is YOUR secret, jerk, and none other's! I only hold my tongue to spare the hearts of two vulnerable, innocent girls that proclaim to love your traitor's heart. If it were up to me, I would see your cheating carcass castrated and thrown into a pit of lions!" She shook out her hair and took another breath. Backing off, she spoke again, her voice lethally soft when she said, "You may think you have plenty of time to sort it out in your little mind, but you will tell them both the truth before the week is out."  
He swallowed hard, torn between the need to tell Lita and Molly the truth and the overwhelming panic he felt at the thought. His eyes became angry. "Are you truly that loyal to your friends, Mars? Or are you just jealous that you aren't among the ranks?!" His eyes glittered in the firelight coming from the temple.  
Rei did not sputter. "I certainly wouldn't admit it in public if I were! I would die of embarrassment if I had to say that I even thought I was in love with a brainwashed, Negaverse reject who plays with the hearts of young, innocent girls for a laugh." Nephlyte was left speechless for a moment. None of this was of his doing – not only was he to suffer the guilt and pain of such a secret, but he was to be tormented about it as well?  
His eyes grew cold. "What could you possibly understand about what plagues me nightly? You understand nothing about me, nor my past!"  
Their echoes resounded about the quiet place. "Are you kidding? Ever since I met you, Nephlyte, I've been having visions that terrify me." In her fury, she easily wrenched the blade from the ground and held it tightly. "Hurting women seems to be a habit you've perfected through the ages. I saw a princess drive a knife into her heart because you were too weak to-"  
"She didn't die." His soft comment was uttered with pain.  
"-withstand Beryl's brainwashing. And, furthermore-" She stopped suddenly as shock absorbed her body. She dropped the sword. "What did you say?"  
He raked a shaky hand through his tangled hair, surprised that she had seen it, too. "She lived…four women revived her somehow."  
Rei sat down on the ground, shivering in the chill of the night. Her head fell into her hands. "You saw them restore Sailor Jupiter, the princess's alter ego," she whispered through her fingers. "They needed her, her strength, and her allegiance. And an unbreakable bond tied her to them."  
His need for answers became overwhelmingly urgent. "What happened to her afterwards? Did she die a lonely woman or did Beryl kill her?" He resisted the urge to impatiently shake the teenage girl. "What happened?!" Rei lifted her head from her hands, wet from her sudden tears. "…I don't know Nephlyte. That is why I need your sword tonight. I know that Lita is tied to the princess somehow, but scientifically, it makes no sense. But," she muttered, "lately, anything scientific cannot be included among possible explanations. I believe, Nephlyte, that all of the Senshi is connected to that time. I'm just not sure how."  
He bent, clasped her hands, and pulled the girl to her feet. An overwhelming force only moments ago, she presently seemed so weak and faded. Gently he walked her to the blazing warmth of the temple and its holy fire. "Please tell my why you need my only weapon." He led her to sit on the floor and sat across from her. She stretched her chilled hands close to the fire and regained some of her strength. "Nephlyte, you are one of the strongest people I have ever placed under hypnosis. However, such an endeavor in ANY case is dangerous and requires constant monitoring. It will be necessary for me to plunge further into your past, Nephlyte, to seek the entire truth."  
"I will help in any way I can, Sailor Mars."  
She nodded, grateful for his cooperation. "If I go further into your mind, I will be so consumed that I will be unable to monitor you. However, I need you, or something important from your distant past, to open the gateway to visions that are necessary for answers that we need. In this case, instead of probing your mind, I will probe your weapon – an object that seems to be part of your past before Beryl and has surely been with you through many times. I won't have to monitor your weapon, as it is an unfeeling, stable object, and will have the freedom to probe as deeply as I would like."  
He nodded. "You're saying that my weapon, probably being a large part of my past, will have memories imprinted within it that are similar to and as strong as my own memories?"  
Rei smiled slightly. "Yeah, something like that. To have you here would only be a distraction. I will need you to leave, but rest easily – Sailor Moon will guard you until I return your weapon." Nephlyte shivered slightly, imagining the irritation he would soon endure. Simply being in the presence of Sailor Moon, or Serena as she called herself, annoyed him. "I don't think," he said, turning away from the girl and the temple, "that I will need a babysitter. Please don't impose on my pride further by suggesting that I cannot protect myself. Station Sailor Moon at Molly's home, somewhere that she can be more useful."  
She watched him walk into the night, hands in his pockets. Although she fought it, she felt a slight twinge of respect for the…Negaverse reject as she had called him. That wasn't true though…he knew it as well as she. He had simply been a prisoner of the Negaverse for a very long time. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she focused her attention to the heavy sword she now held in her hands. The hilt of the sword was two-toned, a textured silver and gold design that enabled its master to maintain an expert grip on the sword while in battle. Its edges were dangerously sharp, and she was careful to inspect it without causing injury to herself. She frowned in disbelief as she noticed the utter perfection of the sword. It appeared to have been made mere days ago, not a scratch to mar any visible surface. Rei closed her eyes and gauged its ability to become a spiritual conduit necessary for her purposes.  
Ancient energy flowed from the sword and it seemed to swirl around her in warm waves. Minutes, perhaps hours passed, as she held the object, gathering fragments of an ancient world. She slowed the cyclone of images and was able to gather basic information simply from focused concentration. She reverently placed the sword on a silk cloth beside of her. From her pocket, she extracted a small recording device and pressed a button. Speaking quickly and excitedly, Rei began to record her initial findings. "It seems that Nephlyte was a high-ranking general, perhaps a ruler in his own right. He was governed by a superior, a high king of sorts. Three other men hold the title that Nephlyte holds, all of them pledging allegiance to the high king. The year is too far back to trace…it seems that Lord Nephlyte comes from a period beyond the recorded history of Earth. Perhaps Amy can check that out."  
She took a short breath and gazed into the fire. "The men seem to possess supernatural abilities…I'm not certain what type or to what degree. They are warriors, but their faces are quite unclear and at this point, I know nothing more of them except for the fact that they are close relations…or devoted friends to Nephlyte. I am preparing to undergo a full-fledged hypnotic analysis of the sword." She stopped the tape and placed the recorder into her pocket. She returned the sword to her lap and closed her eyes.  
Rei's chants whispered through the room as she began to fade into the swirling blackness of hypnosis. And she fell.  
  
She was lying on her back, her eyes closed and her body felt slightly weak. Her eyelids opened on their own accord, and she found herself peering up into a covering of dense tree leaves. Sunlight bounced aimlessly around her as the leaves swayed on their branches.  
Rei lifted on her elbows and stared at the scene before her. It was like nothing her eyes had ever seen. She slowly stood up, and breathed in the musty, ancient scent of the forest. Around her, rays of the morning sun peeked through the autumn trees, creating playful shadows on the ground. The atmosphere was so very peaceful; she nearly expected to hear flute music in the air.  
Circling around the enormous redwood trees were brick-like walkways, all connected to a main walkway the led deeper into the forest. She knelt down and examined the stones and found that they were made of the purest white marble. A faint mist lightly carpeted marble walkways, fading faintly as she stood up and lightheartedly kicked at it. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, striding confidently down the main walkway that headed toward…well, she didn't know, only that it led deeper into the forest. Rei knew to expect something spectacular – strangely, her heart knew this place. She quickened her pace.  
Suddenly, the forest began to brighten and a break in the trees revealed a light so bright that she shielded her eyes for a moment as she came into a clearing. The view of a picturesque white structure took her breath away. Tall towers and small windows with colorful stained glass filled her vision. Five flags swayed in the morning breeze near the entryway, marred only by the passing flutter of leaves that were helpless to escape the wind.  
After her eyes got their fill of the enormous marble castle, Rei turned to the right where she heard the melodious bubbling of a nearby creek. The mists swirled about her as she made her way to the far side of the castle, and it wasn't until she heard the crunch of footsteps that she knew she wasn't alone.  
A tall man stood twenty feet away from her, breathing in the chilly air and lifting his sparkling eyes to the sky. His thick blond hair rippled in the air currents, allowing sunrays to catch various strands and turn them into magical shades of gold. His chest strained the fabric of his uniform, allowing Rei to see nearly every contour of his muscular upper body.  
A feeble sound escaped her lips as she walked to him, helpless to slow her pace, intent on going that direction until she found herself next to the blond. Rei knew that she could not touch him, and that he would not feel her presence, but as if in a trance, her hand reached to stroke his cheek. To her disappointment and assumption, it only met chilly air.  
Jadeite. Her heart fluttered at the thought of his name and the certainty that it belonged to him. She breathed the words.  
He did not stir but stared intently across the creek into the dense forest. His bangs fell carelessly into his face, but he made no move to brush them away. She had never felt anything so powerful in her life. Her chest hurt as she realized that her heart loved this man. Already weary, Rei placed her fingers on her temples and tried to stay focused. "Jadeite!" Rei jumped at the sound of a man's voice behind her. She noticed Jadeite's startled expression as well. Nephlyte strolled to the handsome man and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "What planet are you on, friend?"  
The rich tones of Jadeite's voice sent shivers through her. "I am certain you could make an educated guess about the whereabouts of my mind." He didn't tear his gaze from the woods but chuckled.  
Nephlyte lifted his eyes to the dawning sky. "Let's hope its not on the planet Jupiter…I'd have to fight you, Lord Jadeite."  
"Unnecessary." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and finally turned to his friend. "Will you be sailing soon? Kunzite and Zoisite will leave for their homelands on the morrow, and I shall be departing within the week."  
Nephlyte nodded his head. "Tomorrow as well. And then…I will make my journey to Jupiter."  
A dark blond eyebrow rose slightly as Jadeite folded his arms across his chest. "Violence in the north has the king concerned…did you feel it, Nephlyte?"  
Rei's trance nearly robbed her of intelligence, but she managed to force herself to listen to the conversation instead of mentally setting the beautiful curves of his lips to memory.  
"Prince Darien is concerned about his father and the welfare of Earth, but war seems inevitable. Nothing, Jadeite, seems to deter evil from its mission…"  
Jadeite's fierce gaze startled Rei for a moment. "We must protect them, Nephlyte. While our lovely warriors will protect their planets with all of their strength should Beryl choose to attack the planets of the Silver Alliance, they are still vulnerable. The Moon Kingdom is quite overly confident about the situation…and Earth will be easy pickings for such outer universal intruders." His concentrated features hardened further. "Her love is as strong as mine…and she will feel the need to protect us all. Your princess will be no different." He closed his eyes. "There is little hope in such times."  
Jadeite turned in Rei's direction and seemed to notice her. His expression darkened with passion. The vision and its atmosphere had changed. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, laying her down on silk covers that appeared at her back. The backdrop became a candlelit bedroom and she was in the body of a VERY lucky woman.  
"Rei…" His breath was warm against her cheek.  
He was a wonderful kisser, and it was an acute relief to finally be able to touch him. She kissed him back in the same impassioned manner, loosely noting that she had most certainly kissed this man before. He growled slightly as she lightly bit his lower lip, and as she threw her head back to give him access to her neck, she awoke with startling awareness.  
Rei was sprawled out on the floor of her temple, the sword flung carelessly to her side. She sat up abruptly and reached for the weapon, surprised at the cold feel of the hilt. She had not been holding it for quite some time…since the change in memory. The sword had no longer served as her channel for memories – her own heart had. She briefly recalled Jadeite's warm kisses and knew that she, the Negaverse generals, and the other girls were all tied together with ancient bonds. With sharp awareness, she realized that Jadeite was dead to her in this world…and that she, Sailor Mars, had fought against him as his sworn enemy - a Senshi against a Negaverse general. Her heart was consumed with grief, and, like a fire burning through her, she screamed and cried for her loss. Rei thought she was dying, her chest hurt so badly.  
And then it stopped. The passion and grief she felt for the general had simply left her body. With confusion, she remembered the attractive Negaverse general they had fought in the name of the Moon and felt nothing – save the frustrating knowledge that it had taken them so long to rid themselves of the nuisance.  
She reached for the recording device, only to find that her palms bore long cuts from the sword she had clutched. She took the thick ribbon from her hair and wrapped it around one of her hands and continued with her task. Talking into the microphone was a difficult affair, given the conditions of her hands and the raspy quality of her voice. She was out of breath when she finished and sat in thoughtful silence for a moment.  
Amy would be VERY interested in her findings…  
  
Nephlyte's temper was impressive. The room around him seemed to quiver with reverence at the anger pouring out of his body. He sat on the floor of the mansion's bare solarium, – not a piece of furniture in the place - staring up at the stars. This had been THE room, the room that he had called upon the stars and argued with Zoisite. He squinted his eyes and thought he could hear the faint echoes of Zoisite's screeching laughter. With an angry hand he threw an empty glass into the marble floor beyond him. It shattered with a satisfying sound that drove Zoisite's laughter from his mind. His fist closed around a nearby bottle that he had propped up on the floor next to him and swiftly brought it to his lips.  
In his Negaverse days, he would brood for days and not even Zoisite would go out of his way to provoke him. It was his youth and passion that spawned such a temper, Kunzite had once reported to an affronted Beryl, and fueled his equally impressive strength. She reconciled her offense at his abrupt nature when she realized its overwhelming benefits. In those early days, she had insisted that the incensed young general lead all battles and work it out of his system. He had killed so many that way… In the early light of dawn, drinking a Scottish whiskey that left a raw taste in his mouth, his past didn't bother him that much. It was the present that threatened to drive him mad. Nephlyte was getting rather intoxicated and he knew it. He chuckled softly and took another drink of the vile tasting alcohol. It would feel like hell later in the morning, but while he was passed out and deeply unconscious, he wouldn't think about his present situation.  
He had shut them all out. Questions that Lita may have had after their awkward encounter with Rei remained unanswered. Numerous knocks at the door at varying intervals remained equally unanswered. After leaving his sword with Rei, he'd returned home and padlocked the door. While he didn't fear Zoisite, he did fear the inevitable – the truth. And so, he had brooded and drank for two days, but never once made a move for the door. Swallowing again, he resisted a shudder of disgust. More vile liquid, more numbness…thoughts…worries were starting to fade away.  
He chuckled again. Nephlyte…  
His head came up in a painfully abrupt jerk, as he tried to locate the sound of a new voice. Another vision…damn that Sailor Mars for opening his mind to this nonsense… Nephlyte…  
A clear image flooded him. Startled, his head reeled, but the vision remained. Instead of an empty room, he stared into the eyes of yet another woman. Serenity. The bottle fell from his limp hand with a loud clank, but did not bust. What remained of the thin liquid leaked out of the bottle, and he could hear it rolling into the dark edges of the room. He closed his eyes and fell completely into the floor as a memory swamped him. The sun of a beautiful Lunarian day touched his face and the sight of the earth looming in the sky touched his heart. A slight breeze lifted his hair as he observed her. The pale fabric of her skirt trailed behind her as she ran to him. "Nephlyte!" His lips tingled as he held back a smile and it felt as if he watched a little sister.  
Before he remembered to bow respectfully, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the cheek. Despite her friendly affection, her attention remained focused on the transporter behind him. He heard the soft, short breaths of her apparent exertions as she stepped away from him.  
Her bright blue eyes narrowed as she continued to stare just beyond his shoulder. "You won't find him, Princess. Battles on Earth have captured Darien's complete attention." With an evident strain in his voice, he pulled a sealed envelope from his pocket and softly confided, "My homeland was attacked this week. Completely destroyed – not a life spared in the heart of the country. I've come to bring another request for a peace treaty with the Moon."  
The girl's hand flew to her mouth, her distress over not seeing her beloved prince forgotten. "Nephlyte…your home…" He said nothing as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes dimmed and her shimmering blond hair seemed to diminish somehow. Nephlyte could feel her pain for him powerfully in his chest. Her genuine sadness nearly caused him to break down at her feet and sob with grief at his loss.  
She must have lost her bodyguards again, he thought as he tried to regain some control. When the Lunarian guards finally located their princess, they rushed to apprehend him. Still shaken, he only requested to speak with their queen. And later, he remained silent as Queen Serenity sadly denied Prince Darien's request once again, saying the alliance simply wouldn't hear of it. Her pale hand held out the tearstained – but still unsigned - documents for him to retrieve. In the end, the Silver Alliance had been correct – they couldn't trust him as Beryl had already planned to ruthlessly hunt down Darien's generals, attack, and brainwash them.  
When she had succeeded, the Earth died.  
Weeks later, in the final battle for the Moon, Beryl had ordered them to fight and kill. Amongst the bloodshed, she targeted Darien and the young Serenity, and in her jealousy, blasted them with enough force to kill an entire battalion. The combatants, from the Moon and Negaverse alike, were shaken from the battle by Princess Serenity's utter cries of anguish. He watched her die. And he had laughed.  
Serenity… As it was, her fate was to become encircled by Queen Serenity's great silver light and reawaken in the distant future where she would be safe again. Still, he could remember her features, but more than that, he remembered her purity. The guileless and complete way that she loved those around her. That's what their prince had loved so much about her and what Queen Beryl had hated so much about her.  
He had laughed at her pain.  
His mind and body could take no more. As his solarium dimly interrupted his vision, he vomited. And then he rolled over and cried. He brought his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and cried until he was out of tears, breath, and emotion.  
  
Amy had cried since Greg had left, that morning after the Senshi had recovered the yellow rainbow crystal. She sniffed, fighting the urge to blow her nose yet again and remember with devastation that she had fallen in love.  
Fallen in love and had not even known it…until the moment he had gone. They wouldn't speak for at least a couple of weeks due to the complications with moving and, if she was able to talk with him, what could she possibly say? That she loved him and wished he could visit sometime so they could get a milkshake together? No way. Not when her heart longed to beg him to stay, share her first kiss with him, and go though the motions of a loving relationship. Her heart burned and she nearly choked on her grief. She had to think of something else. A knock at the door did the trick. She chose to ignore it and snuggled deep under the covers. She was quite startled when it swung open anyway. "Amy?" Serena walked boldly to the bed and pulled the comforter down until she could see her friend's weary eyes. She folded her arms around Amy as the others circled the bed to do the same. Their support was unbelievably therapeutic. After their initial meeting, when Amy had sobered up enough to get down to business and after Lita passed around the brownies that she had brought (everyone had one except for Serena – who claimed she'd had only two, but after a quick tally, it was discovered that she'd actually eaten four), Amy felt much better. Why had she ever avoided her friends?  
Rei had successfully waited until all of the Senshi could gather to reveal what had happened. When she felt that the turf was much more solid, she explained to Luna and the girls her findings the night before. She then played her recording of notes, deliberately stopping short of her encounter with Jadeite.  
"I attempted to sketch the castle in my vision, Amy, in case you were familiar with a similar structure. However, I'm convinced that this particular time period is before recorded history. I also sketched the design on the hilt of Nephlyte's sword and some of the designs on his uniform." She had made copies for the girls and Luna and proceeded to pass them out. "As some of you may recall, this is the same uniform that Nephlyte wore when he was fighting the two youmas with the faux Molly." Serena's blank stare required her to explain further. "The day that Jupiter exhausted her powers to the point of near death."  
Serena snapped her fingers. "Oh, the day that Nephlyte carried her into the woods and healed her!" Rei and Lita exchanged uneasy glances. Before Serena could ask any uncomfortable questions, Rei finished her story with an effectively shocking revelation. "And, the strangest part of my vision was the second gentleman that I saw – the one that I thought myself to be in love with and the one I kissed." She waited a full ten seconds and took a deep breath – this was harder than she had expected it to be. "It was Jadeite."  
"Eewwww!" Serena clapped a hand over her mouth at Rei's look of impatience. "I mean, he was always SO handsome, but his personality didn't add much to the mix did it?" She laughed nervously.  
The other girls turned their attention toward Amy. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it was Jadeite you saw?"  
"Yes. It was Jadeite that I LOVED."  
Amy, feeling much more like herself, gazed at the image of the castle in front of her, and said nothing for a moment. Rei's sketch was quite good. "While it's clear that the markings of Nephlyte's uniform match those on one of the five flags at the entryway of the castle, it isn't clear whether or not Jadeite's uniform markings match one of the flags."  
The girls caught Rei in a rare blush. "I didn't notice." She cleared her throat. "My entire focus was on the man himself."  
Amy waved it away as unimportant. "My guess is that it did." She examined Rei's hands, which were healing quite nicely, threw back the covers, and walked to her computer. Within moments, she had booted the system up and had opened a file that contained a thorough set of notes. The girls were amazed at Amy's efforts.  
Lita inched closer to the screen. "Wow! You have everything, Amy. Notes, possibilities, facts, transcripts from Rei's visions, a timeline of events. This is incredible."  
"I wonder how she'll transcribe Rei and Jadeite's kiss?" Serena giggled. "Was it romantic, Rei…was he a good kisser?"  
Rei put her hands on her hips indignantly. "I don't think that's any of your bus-"  
"Come on, Rei," Serena placed her hands on her heart dramatically. "Please tell us."  
When Rei noticed the other girls eyeing her eagerly, she answered. "Yes…YES he was a wonderful kisser. If I think about it intensely enough, I still want to swoon." Rei sat down on the carpet and hugged her knees to her. "It felt like I was home – like it was the most natural thing to do EVER."  
Luna cleared her throat, Serena sighed, Amy teared up, and Lita shifted awkwardly. She knew what that felt like – and now, blessedly, Rei did too. It wasn't a usual crush, and she'd had plenty to know, but an all-consuming need that swirled to the tips of ones fingers and toes. Lita shook her head slightly, thinking it couldn't be healthy.  
Rei interrupted their mixed reactions by declaring, "I'm going to consult the Great Fire tonight. I simply didn't have the energy to last night after my readings. And here are the remainder of my notes." She pressed a button on the cassette player.  
At the mention of Zoisite's name, Lita asked that they stop the tape. "Rei, did Nephlyte say 'Zoisite'? As in Zoisite of the Negaverse?"  
Amy snapped her fingers before Rei could answer. "Yes, that's it! Luna, what do you remember about the Silver Millennium?"  
Luna briefly described the planets of the alliance, Queen Beryl's attack on earth, and then the fight for the moon. "I know that I was sent here to find the Moon Princess and that if the Negaverse came here to do the same, the Sailor Scouts would then be activated. And, clearly, you are needed. I truly don't have the details that we so desperately could use. My own memories are horribly faded and broken."  
With a knowing smile, Amy began typing on her computer. After a few moments, she declared, "Queen Beryl, in that ancient battle with the earth must have won by brainwashing Earth's powerful rulers. Jadeite, Nephlyte, and, as we know now, Zoisite must have been among those rulers. And," Amy said, gesturing in Rei's direction, "from Rei's supernatural abilities and thorough notes, we can conclude that there is – or was - a fourth, Kunzite. Finally, Jadeite may have had a romantic ties with Sailor Mars of that time and Nephlyte romantic ties with Princess Jupiter."  
As Amy summed up her findings, only Lita suspected the whole truth – that within each of them rested the hearts and souls of a Sailor Senshi and princess of her respective planet, the same person they were now only without their memories.  
Luna digested the new information and revealed some of her own. "Expect a new scout, ladies. After Rei's experience, I am certain that a fifth is coming."  
  
"My gosh, you're drunk!"  
Serena stared at Nephlyte for a long moment, taking in the ragged details that had transformed his usually neat countenance into one that left dark circles under his hazy eyes, wrinkles in a stained button-up shirt, and tangles in his beautiful hair. He looked…off-center somehow, and if the slight scent of alcohol hadn't clued her in, his condition would have. The morning light was harsh on his melancholy features.  
"Nothing like stating the obvious, Sailor Moon." His words had the bare hint of a slur, but he seemed able to move well enough as he tried to close the door before she could rush into his home and question him.  
Sidestepping the door was easy enough, and she followed relentlessly behind him. They wound up going through the house until they met the back door. He didn't bother trying to swing it closed before she could go through it. For a moment, Serena had to shield her eyes against the lush green abundance that struck her eyes. A beautiful enclosed courtyard was spread out before her. She slowly stepped down from the porch as she took in the hundreds of overgrown rose bushes, the cobblestone walkway, soothing fountains, and an enormous gazebo that stood proudly in the middle of it all.  
"This is paradise," she breathed, following him to the wooden structure and sitting down inside of it. Her hair swished as looked at her surroundings. "And I am-" she stopped short as she once again evaluated his condition. "And I am with you, and you are drunk!"  
Nephlyte laughed softly and turned, refusing to look at the girl glaring at his back. "What is your problem? What would Molly think about this?" She stepped around him so that she could glare at his face, still disgusted by his behavior.  
"Molly…hehehe…what would she think…what would she think…" Sitting down, he stared beyond the ancient-looking gazebo into the tangle of red, pink, and white roses. Serena gritted her teeth. Certainly a romantic spot for a couple, but an absurd spot for a drunken man to sit and enjoy the beauty of the morning. Nephlyte, the alcoholic? It didn't make sense. She could tell that he was roaring drunk and ready to pass out. "The lady you love? Remember her?" Serena sat down across from him and folded her arms over her chest. With some irony, she thought she sounded quite like her mother.  
Nephlyte's distant gaze caught her attention. "The lady I love…Molly…or Lita…which one is it?" His hazy eyes locked on hers for a moment as if she could answer his bizarre question. He looked genuinely worried. "Which one is it?" He closed his eyes for a moment and whispered an inaudible name, seemingly answering his question.  
She felt a sickening feeling in her stomach and understood much more than she wanted to. For a few furious moments she was silent as the situation dawned on her. How could he…how could Lita? When she stood up again, ready to tell him off, he unwittingly stood up as well. She slapped him hard instead, despite of his condition. His world rocked unsteadily as his cheek registered the sting and looked at her. For a moment, she was ready to slap him again and even poised her hand to do so. One for the cheater and one for his mistress…poor, poor, sweet Molly. Her heart was already bleeding for her. At that moment she felt such anger and it robbed her of clear thought. Serena stared angrily at him until a red welt emerged on his cheek. And then, as it had never failed to do so before, a wave of sympathy crashed through her fury, and she sighed deeply. She placed her hand over the angry mark and sent waves of healing energy through her fingers. When she removed her hand, the swelling was gone. Her hand flew to her mouth and she nearly cried at her hateful action. How could she claim to be the scout of love and justice if she used her strength in ANGER? Her blue eyes shone with unshed tears. Nephlyte looked at her face and after a moment smiled, his eyes focusing almost unnaturally. His direct gaze caught her attention and held it. "Serenity…" he whispered as his tanned fingers touched the side of her cheek. "My God…you're alive…all this time…"  
She stood still, quite locked in his captive gaze.  
Serenity…Serenity. Mentally, she rolled the name around in her memory, certain she had heard it before, but uncertain where or when. Nephlyte didn't appear drunk now, no, he appeared abnormally sober and focused. Nephlyte suddenly fell to one knee and pressed his fist to his heart. His mind burned with broken images from his past and although he couldn't make out a storyline from these random images, he finally remembered the revelation from two nights ago. And he certainly recalled everything that was Serenity, princess of the moon. Uncomfortable with the intensity of the prolonged gesture, Serena ordered him to stand up. He did so immediately. "Why are you staring at me like that?"  
He began to laugh. The delicate princess had been reawakened in the form of a rude, clumsy, quite irritating teenager. However, despite these inconsistencies, her eyes were the same brilliant blue, her hair the same glorious blonde rolled up in those strange balls, and her heart the same pure, loving, wholesome force that enveloped those around her. He laughed so hard that his stomach muscles became tired and tears fell from his eyes. His masculine laughter echoed in the woods around them.  
The attractive sound was wonderful to her ears, but through it all, an uneasy feeling crept into her mind. She recognized it immediately – Molly. She pointed a polished pink fingernail into his chest. "You're a slimeball." With that degrading statement, she spun on her heel (nearly falling, but quickly regaining her balance) and marched away, her long ponytails swinging behind her.  
  
The cat's sleek white coat shimmered in the moonlight as it walked alongside a young girl. Its footsteps tapped the pavement in the dark as it walked, and no one would have guessed the two were carrying on a conversation.  
Long blonde hair swished in the breeze as the girl walked casually toward her destination. "How will we find them, Artemis?"  
The white cat took his time in answering. "When the Negaverse attempts another attack on one of the rainbow crystal carriers, you'll feel it. We'll meet them in battle." Artemis stopped for a moment, causing the girl to turn to him questioningly. "Remember, your role is now Sailor Venus, Mina. You are second-in-command only to Sailor Moon." He thought for a moment about Luna's newest information. "There is something going on that you should know about. Have you ever heard the name Zoisite?" The girl shook her head.  
"What about Kunzite?"  
For a split second, Mina's eyes refocused. In the next moment, she fainted.  
  
Across town, in a magnificent garden bathed in moonlight, Nephlyte took Lita's hand and took a deep breath. "Lita…there's something I must tell you…" 


End file.
